BLIND TRUST
by OokamiLover19
Summary: A girl, having been hurt, lose her sight, and dying, is saved by the Great Dog General from his place in the afterlife. The only problem? He can only send her to the side of a ruthless killer when he saves her. With her dying breath, lightning strikes where her body lay bleeding and broken, removing her from her known world.
1. Chapter 1

Ohayo Readers! Here's another story that has been running through my mind for months.

I own nothing from Inuyasha.

Hope you enjoy!

Please read and review!

* * *

Almost blinding lights reflected off the wet streets as a motorcycle sped through the wet streets, it's rider in solid black leather and helmet. As cars passed them from the opposite lanes, their bright lights made the rider be able to see their reflection in the visor of their helmet, revealing eyes of molten gold narrowed in concentration. The black rider weaved in and out of traffic, going faster then what was safe in the heavy rain as lightning illuminated the black skies. Several cars honked at the rider as they passed them, straddling the white dotted line. Some even dared to roll down their window with the heavy rain to yell at the motorcyclist as they passed. A ringing in the motorcyclist's ear made them sigh before answering the call from the Bluetooth headset.

 _'Azya Kazuki, you are in so much trouble_!' A feminine screeched into the motorcyclist's ear making them flinch.

"Okay...? And why does my ears deserve such violet screeching? You do realize that I'm driving right?" Azya responded, their voice revealing to female.

' _When did you buy such a dangerous piece of transportation? And why would you be riding it in this rain?!'_

"Ah, so you were one of the many drivers who doesn't know how to drive in extreme weather," Azya chuckled, hearing a male voice in the background yelling about the dangers of motorcycles and weather. "Anyway, since when have you actually cared? You guys didn't even care when I dropped of the radar. So what gives Antonio?"

' _When I can recognize my daughter's unmistakable maroon braid zooming past on a motorcycle_ ,' Azya heard her father snap, realizing she was now on speaker.

"You have some nerve calling me that when you disowned me. So... after five years, why now? Why pretend to care, considering I get a call from your lawyers to sign off the paperwork and a huge sum of money to not take you to court over the claim? Not that I ever need your damn money..."

' _Watch your mouth young lady!'_ Her mother snapped, but she could hear the tears.

"Save the tears for someone who cares, Anita," Azya snapped.

' _Felix demands that you appear at the winter party,'_ she heard her father sneer.

"And why do I care what your brother wants?"

 _'He claimed you as family,_ ' her mother Anita spoke quietly and Azya spun her bike around and raced back through the honking cars until she found the familiar car and slid to a stop in front of them, stopping traffic in the lane. ' _What the hell are you doing young lady?!'_

"So you only called me because now I have more claim over your brother's will than you?!" Azya snapped pulling her helmet off and got off her motorcycle and walked over to the driver window as her father rolled it down when she threatened to break it in with her helmet.

Azya stared hard at the two people who raised her. Her mother, Anita, had perfectly curled blond hair pulled back by a jeweled pin, blue eyes, and wore a black business suit. Antonio, her father, had short black hair, hazel eyes, and also wore a black suit, meaning that both had just come out of some business party. Azya had waist length maroon hair braided to her waist while the top half of her hair was platinum blond to her shoulders in shallow a-line.

"Let's take this off the highway, Azya..."

"Why? So you can shut me up? Call your lawyer to give me another sum of money to stay quiet? You are bitter that I refused to become apart of your companies so that I could take over one day! You don't disown your only child because they refuse to follow your exact steps. You can't force people to be somebody they're not."

"Felix wants to leave you everything, no strings attached..." Anita sobbed.

"I don't want any of that!" Azya snapped as she slammed her helmet into the metal door frame, leaving a dent. She felt heavy rain drops roll down her scalp as her hair got soaked. "What is it about the damn Kazuki family and thinking it's all about the money?! I just wanted a family who cares and supported what I wanted. Not people who disown their own family!"

"Azya..."

"You were supposed to be my parents! Not a business partner or my boss. Why can't you understand that? We could have been the poorest people in the world and I would have been happy if you just acted like parents who loved their child, not have expectations of the next holder of your damn companies!"

"Azya...!" Anita opened her door to get out and Azya shook her head and pulled her helmet back on. "Let us talk about this..."

"You had twenty years to ' _talk_ ' about it, Anita," Azya sneered, using her gloves fingers as quotation marks before getting back on her motorcycle. "Don't call me again. You chose this, you can't undo your choice and expect me to accept the terms."

"Azya!" Antonio got out as she revved her engine. She turned her head only slightly to laugh at the pitiful faces of her former parents before zooming back down the road.

' _ **You choose a dangerous life, dear child.'** _Azya swerved a little on the wet streets as she heard a man in her ears loud and clear as if she was on the phone. ' _ **Tell me, dearest Azya, if you could choose, would you have chosen a different life?'**_

"Who the hell is this?" Azya snapped, cursing as a car hydroplained and almost swerved into her.

' ** _You may call me Toga or Inu No Taishō, but either way, you drive in anger and you will die_** ,' the man spoke sadly.

"The hell...?"

' _Azya, are you talking to yourself? You never hung up the phone..._ ' she heard Anita through her headset, quieter than the strange man's voice.

"I'm fine," Azya muttered before moving to end the call when a pair of headlights swerved from the opposite traffic and headed right at her. "...Fuck..."

' _Az... Azya..._!' She heard her mother scream as the car reached her.

She veered to the left to try and get out of the way but there was not enough time to react with the wet roads. The car hit her right side, the momentum throwing her from the bike and she felt her body hit the hood of the car before everything went black and felt her head hit the windshield, hearing it shatter before all other senses faded.

* * *

Sirens were the first thing she heard as she started to come around. The sound of an erratic beeping was the next thing she could hear before feeling started to come back and felt the cold rain hitting her. She tried to breathe but it came out wheezy as searing pain shot through the right side of her chest. She opened her eyes, but there was nothing to see as if the entire world had gone pitch black. She was able to move her left arm without too much pain and lifted it up to the pain in her chest and felt something narrow impaled in her chest. She flexed the muscles in her body and felt her toes but her whole right side started to throb at the movement.

"You shouldn't be moving miss!" A voice nearby yelled and she felt a hand moved her left arm back to the ground. "You were in accident. Do you remember anything?"

"I should have stopped..." Azya whispered weakly as she felt hands carefully remove her helmet as something got out around her neck. "He said this would happen..."

"Miss...? Can you see me?"

"Azya!" She could hear both Anita and Antonio distantly over the sirens. "Azya...!"

"I don't see anything... why can't I see anything...?"

"Let us through! That's our daughter! Azya!" Antonio yelled.

"Miss...?"

"I hear them," she snapped before hissing in pain.

"There's a shard of glass puncturing your right lung. You shouldn't talk."

"Then stop asking stupid questions," she hissed as something went over her nose and mouth, pushing air into her.

"Azya, oh Azya..." she could hear Anita start sobbing closer than before. "Her eyes... how bad is this...?"

"Who are you?" Azya recognized the man who first talked to her speak.

"We're her parents," Antonio snapped. "What do you know?"

"Former parents," Azya forced out, lifting up the oxygen mask to be able to talk louder.

"Glass has punctured her right lung and her right side has multiple deep lacerations from the impact. She is unable to see, so there may be severe damage to her eyes. The visor shattered under the impact and there is quite a bit of glass around her eyes," the EMT spoke.

"She may have lost her sight?" Anita gasped.

"Good time to remind everybody, they have no rights to my condition. They disowned me. You can call the fuckin lawyer!" Azya growled as the erratic beeping sped up. "So both of you can fuck off!"

"Sir, her heart...!"

"Sedate her! Her heart is going too fast!"

"Is she going to die?!"

"If we can get her to the hospital in time."

"I refuse to go to a hospital," Azya growled. "I know there is too much damage."

"You will die Azya!" She heard Antonio snap.

"I'm already dying. I refuse to be caused more pain and end up dying in a hospital," Azya laughed as she brought her left hand up to the shard in her chest and ripped it out. "I choose you Inu No Taishō!"

"No...!" Several people screamed as she felt pressure to her chest.

 ** _'So you realized it_** ,' the strange man, Toga's voice echoed in her head as the rest of the world seemed to fade.

' _Any attempt to move me most likely would have caused more damage_ ,' she thought weakly.

 ** _'I have the power to save you, but there is a price. I cannot return your sight, neither to a place you know. I can only promise safety from the dangers of my world in the form of a cold-hearted companion. Only my Mark would save you from his ruthlessness.'_**

 _'I chose you,'_ Azya sighed all sound and feeling from outside of her mind faded completely.

 _ **'I hope it is the right choice, dearest Azya,'** _Toga whispered as she felt a warmth over the center of her chest as if someone's hand was over her heart.


	2. Chapter 2

Ohayo readers, thank you to those who read, followed, and/or favorited this story. I was surprised that I got so many responses within the first day of posting the first chapter. I hope I can keep you all entertained with this new story.

I own nothing from Inuyasha.

Please enjoy and review.

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Amber eyes opened, bleeding red as a twig snapped nearby. Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands, could not comprehend how the incompetent half-breed had managed to injure him so severely that the fang that sat at his side, the Tenseiga, had teleported him to a wooded area that had no familiar scents. Another twig snapped and the Western Lord made a move to sit up to face the one who dared come near, but an unfamiliar weight across his chest distracted him from the nearby threat.

Knowing that his armor had been broken by Tesseiga's attack, he frowned and focused on the foreign weight. Platinum blonde hair was the first thing he saw before noticing the waist length maroon braid. The human who laid upon his person wore leather that hugged their body, revealing curves of a maturing young woman. Her heartbeat was steady but slower than a normal human and with his youkai senses, he could hear the shallow breathes and how it hitched every time she took a breath in. Her face was hidden underneath her two toned hair but the smell of her foreign blood mixed with his own stung his nose, but with how she laid he could not see the blood , nor the injuries.

 ** _'Inu no Taishō,'_ **his inner youkai growled in recognition as it stir from within its cage in his mind as an almost familiar scent could be detected under the female's scent of Lavender and Cederwood and the metallic smell of her blood.

' _That is not possible. This one's sire has been dead for over two centuries,'_ Sesshomaru frowned as he talked to his beast.

 ** _'Her heartbeat has sped up, make her explain.'_**

Sesshomaru focused on the girl as he heard her start gasping for air and he felt her small hand grip his torn haori. Her head lifted up just enough to not be touching his person, but a whimper escaped her lips, although Sesshomaru had a feeling she was trying to restrain herself from voicing her pain. Her remained quiet as she started to push herself up and a gasp involuntarily escaped his lips seeing all the wounds to her right side, but her face remained hidden.

"So he… spoke truth… " she spoke, her voice weak and he could hear the strain it was causing her to even speak, but seeing the deep gash above her right breast, he understood why he could hear the difficulty of her breathes. She pushed harder against him and managed to stay on her knees, though she ended up straddling his left leg. Her hands moved to help her stay upright and one hand gripped his pant leg while the other came to the injury causing her pain to breathe. "Ouch…"

"Ouch?" Sesshomaru spoke, unable to keep his silence at that statement. "For a Human, you show quite a deal of restraint over your pain. Even this one can hear the strain in your chest."

"Well it feels less painful now… than when the glass had punctured my lung…" she spoke, chuckling weakly. "Oh… where are my manners…? I don't even know where I am or why I woke up on you... I am Azya Kazuki…"

"Poor manners if you can't even make eye contact with the one who's person you have violated," Sesshomaru scoffed.

"I do not know… if that will ever be possible..." she whispered as she lifted her head, revealing bloodstained cheeks and white eyes other than the blood that still spilt like tears. "I fear there may be too much damage. Even he said that my sight may never return."

"What caused such damage?"

"An accident in heavy rains with glass and metal," she smiled sadly, closing her damaged eyes before her arms gave out and she collapsed against him with a cry of pain. "Fuck…!"

"This Sesshomaru would never stoop so low," he snarled, but the she started laughing even though he could hear the pain.

"God, I'm so sorry… I didn't mean it like that… I tend to say a lot of vulgarities when I'm in pain or mad… Oh God, it hurts to laugh…" she whined as he pushed her off him and she ended up on her back against his Mokomoko, gasping for air at the motion.

A twig broke closer than the past two and Sesshomaru felt his eyes bleed red as a growl escaped his lips at the intruder. The human laying against his side fell silent and he felt her right had grip the empty sleeve of his haori. He scanned the trees as he could hear the heartbeat of a human before a human child appeared, her eyes wide as she gripped the bark of the tree she hid behind. Sesshomaru growled once at the child and she ran off without a sound.

"Um…" Sesshomaru glanced down at the injured human as her hand moved up his sleeve before finding the remaining nub of his arm. "Oh…"

"The limb is not missed. Don't waste your pity for this Sesshomaru has no need for it from a human."

"He was certainly honest about you," she whispered as she removed her hand from him and let it lay across her stomach. "Ruthless and cold-hearted. I don't know what he meant by his mark though."

"Whom do you speak of?"

"The one who saved me from truly dying and brought me to where ever this place is, Inu no… Taishō…" her voice faded and her head fell to the side as she lost consciousness, but he had heard her.

 _'This one's sire saved her? How is that possible? How like him to save such a pitiful creature, '_ he thought as he sensed the human child return and growled at her, but she did not run.

She squared her shoulders and came closer, carrying a bucket of water and a bundle of white linen. She kept her distance from him as she walked around him and slow lying stepped closer to the female at his side. The child knelt beside Azya and looked at him as if questioning and he gave her a single nod to her silent plea, knowing that he was in no position to move himself and if he was going to get answers, Azya's wounds would have to be taken care of. She smiled before pulling a wet cloth out of the bucket and started with the blood around Azya's face.

When her face was clean, the child wrapped some of the linen around her head. Then she worked on pulling at the leather sleeve on her left arm, but couldn't get it to slid off. She let out a huff and Sesshomaru almost smirked at the child as he used his claws and poison to cut through the sleeve and did the same to the right sleeve and down the center of her chest so that all the fabric pooled below her. As the child started washing her chest, working around the strange garment that contained her large breasts, he noticed a mark in the center of her chest of a crescent moon. The same moon that sat upon his brow that he had been given from his sire.

 _ **'So our sire has marked the female. It would not be honorable to abandon her.'**_

 _'This female will be nothing but trouble. To put a blind child under Western protection,'_ Sesshomaru scoffed in his mind.

The child poked his shoulder once and he focused on her as she pulled on Azya's wrist trying to sit her up. He growled at her, making her flinch, but complied and pulled the unconscious girl into a sitting position, his hand around her upper arm. The child worked quickly and wrapped her whole chest and all the way to her hips where the wounds seemed to be the shallowest, as if whatever accident she was in had been directed mostly at the right side of her chest.

Once the child finished, Sesshomaru let go of her arm and she fell back against his Mokomoko without a sound. The child ran off without the bucket, again without a word and Sesshomaru frowned. Most humans were talkative if he didn't threaten to kill them.

Yet here he was, tolerating an injured human to be touching his person while allowing a child to come near. When he finished healing and got the answers he wanted from the strange human beside him, he would figure out if he could remove his sire's mark on her so he did not have to deal with such a weak creature. Then he would continue his quest to take the Tesseiga from the half-breed.


	3. Chapter 3

I own nothing from Inuyasha.

Please enjoy and review.

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Sesshomaru stared at his unwanted companion as she laid on the ground, still unconscious though it had been a week since he had woken up with her on his person. He stood before pulling her into his arm, sensing his pack nearby. Now that he had healed, it was time to collect his retainer and two-headed dragon.

Though the mute child had come daily to clean Azya's wounds, she needed a more experienced healer to check her wounds. He was confused that his inner youkai felt concern for the injured female, sensing the smell of his blood lingering in her still bleeding wounds. As he carried her in his arm, he could hear the annoying croaking of his retainer mumbling to himself.

"He was testing… He was teasing… He was testing… He was teasing… ?! Lord Sesshomaru, would you really have risked my life to test your sword?! You ungrateful dog!" Annoyed, Sesshomaru kicked a rock into the kappa's direction as he entered a clearing, seeing the rock knock him off the two-headed dragon. "Lord Sesshomaru, before I continue in your service, we're you actually testing your sword on me?!"

"I expected a relieved welcome from you Jaken, not an investigation," Sesshomaru spoke coldly as he walked over to Ah-Un and situated Azya on the saddle so she was laying on her stomach, putting some pressure on her wounds as Jaken climbed back up Ah-Un's back, oblivious to the injured human.

"Er, right… I'm glad you're well. I thought you might be dead. Oh… !" Jaken flew off Ah-Un's back as Sesshomaru kicked another rock at the kappa.

"Fucking hell…" Sesshomaru focused on Azya as she groaned and forced herself to sit up. He placed his hand on her upper back and she turned her bandaged head his way. "Considering what he told me about you, I'm surprised that you didn't leave me."

"This Sesshomaru is curious how you knew it was me, not someone else," he spoke as he started walking and Ah-Un followed closely, leaving Jaken to catch up.

"Your scent," she smiled gently. "That and I recognized your voice. What was that obnoxious sound just now?"

"This one's retainer, Jaken. He is a kappa."

"Wait, what…? Kappa… As in an imp youkai?"

"Hn," Sesshomaru responded as he glanced at her as he heard her breathing speed up, as if panicked. "Woman…?"

"Youkai… Where the hell am I? There can't be such things. They are only myths… stories to scare children… what nightmare am I in?! Have I just lost my mind?" Bloody tears fell from her bandaged eyes, soaking the white linen. "Where the fuck did you take me Toga?!"

"You will cease your ranting," Sesshomaru snapped. "Insulting this Sesshomaru's sire, will do nothing except cause your injuries more strain. You should be grateful that he saved such a weak creature like you. This Sesshomaru would have killed you already for even being near my person if not for that mark on your chest."

"What…?" her hand came to her chest and felt the bandages. "I am not in the world I have known, am I?"

"Apparently…" Sesshomaru frowned as a smell of blood reached his nose. "I recognize this blood."

"You filthy human, get off of Ah-Un. Do you not know who this is?!"

"Jaken." Sesshomaru growled at the kappa, making him shut up as he started walking in the direction the smell of blood was coming from.

As they got closer to the source of the blood, Sesshomaru noticed that the woods because thicker can could sense the lingering smell of wolf youkai. Azya had laid forward again, her arms loosely around the base of Ah-Un's neck, her breathes hitching with every breath. Her panic attack having caused her extreme pain, that she couldn't focus on anything else. Soon Sesshomaru found the source of the stench of blood, the mute child that had come every day to clean Azya's wounds, torn apart and the smell of wolves lingered heavily around her bloody remains.

"What is that?" Jaken asked before cringing at the smell. "Phew, she's a goner, that's for sure. She must have been attacked by wolves. Look at the teeth markings. Do you recognize this pathetic human?"

"Why is there the metallic smell of blood?" Sesshomaru heard Azya whispered weakly before he felt Tenseiga pulse at his side and drew the blade.

"What… what are you doing sire?" Jaken exclaimed and he heard him take a step back.

' _Interesting. I can see them. They are from the underworld,'_ Sesshomaru thought, seeing the pallbearers hovering around the mute child's body. "I'll do another test, I'll use the Tenseiga."

"Another test?! What are you doing sire? What are you doing?!" Jaken squeaked before Sesshomaru swung at the pallbearers, slicing through them.

"If you are his retainer, is it really smart to question him so much?" Azya hissed, but Sesshomaru didn't pay attention to them as he knelt down and lifted the child into a sitting position, gasping quietly as the child's eyes opened and her wounds healed.

"She came back to life! Lord Sesshomaru, you resurrected that human girl by the power of the Tenseiga?! Huh? Hello, Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken squawked as he stood and grabbed Ah-Un's reigns and started walking away. "Lord Sesshomaru saving a human girl is surprising enough, but then again, more importantly didn't Lord Sesshomaru just say he was going to test the power of the Tenseiga once again? That means I was cut down with no guarantee of survival…!"

"Your retainer sure talks a lot," Azya chuckled as Jaken's voice started to fade, "and doesn't focus very well it seems. Does he even realize that he's been left behind?"

"He'll notice soon enough," Sesshomaru spoke coldly, slightly amused that she was already paying attention to her remaining senses.

"What did he mean by saying you revived someone?"

"The sword given to this Sesshomaru by this one's sire cannot cut the living. It can only cut down the pallbearers that carry a soul from this world to the underworld, giving life only once to each being. Tenseiga compelled me to save the child back there, the same child that has cleaned your wounds every day the past five days you have been unconscious."

"I guess there is a lot I am going to have to learn about your world," she sighed.

"Only if you teach this Sesshomaru about yours."

"Fair enough…."

"Lord Sesshomaru! Wait for me."

"Took him long enough," Azya chuckled before he heard her let out a small sound of surprise and glanced back to see the mute child walking aside Ah-Un, a hand touching Azya's leg.

"It is merely the child this Sesshomaru revived. It seems though that she cannot speak and wishes to follow."

"You seem irritated enough with one disabled human, what are your thoughts on the child willingly following."

"She can do as she pleases," Sesshomaru spoke before hearing Azya let out a hitched breath and glanced back to see the child sitting in front of Azya on Ah-Un, a huge grin on her face. "Do not strain your injuries further."

"What season is it? It's quite chilly."

"The summer solstice just passed," Jaken squawked as he caught up.

"Don't get snippy with a blind person, I may end up stepping on you one of these days little toad," Azya muttered coldly.

"Jaken, it's now your responsibility to care for both these humans. Any harm that befall them and it will be your head that rolls," Sesshomaru spoke coldly and heard Jaken stutter before falling silent. "This Sesshomaru will care for all your needs while you are apart of my pack."

"When Toga explained some of your personality, I didn't expect you to treat me so well…"

"You bear the mark of the Western Lands upon your body, it does this Sesshomaru no good to ignore your needs, least it reflects badly upon my reputation as the Western Lord."

"So it's a pride thing. That makes much more sense."

"Rest human, you have already strained your injuries enough today. Ah-Un will not let you fall off if you sleep."

"Fine, but it's still cold." Sesshomaru stopped walking and turned towards the talkative human and felt like killing something. He pulled a spare haori out of the saddle bag and draped it around her shoulders. "Thanks…"

"At the next village, this Sesshomaru will get you proper clothing."

"Thank you again, I feel like I will be thanking you a lot."

"Silence, human and rest."

"That will get annoying. My name is Azya, not human," she sighed as he grabbed Ah-Un's reigns and started walking again.

"Hn."


	4. Chapter 4

Sesshomaru sat against the wall of the healer's hut as Azya sat in only her skin tight leather hamakas and strange purple garment that contained her breasts as the deer youkai worked on cleaning her wounds and smear a healing paste on each laceration. It had taken two days of traveling on foot to reach the youkai village and Azya had slept most of the time while only getting oh Ah-Un to relieve herself and when they camped for the night. The child started talking a little the second morning of traveling with them and Azya had mentioned that trauma could have caused the temporary disability, then started working with the child to talk more, revealing that her name was Rin. Now she was off with Jaken as he gathered supplies for the two humans while he had taken Azya to the healer.

"Do you really have to sit there while she does this?" Azya muttered, her back to Sesshomaru.

"It does this Sesshomaru no good to wait outside when there are questions about your injuries," he spoke simply.

"I can sense what your inner youkai mentioned. It is concerning that your blood can be sensed within most of these wounds. You must have been greatly injured, my lord, to have so much within her. How did this happen?" the deer youkai, Yumi, asked as she started to bandage Azya's entire chest.

"This Sesshomaru woke with her on this one's person."

"So you are unsure how this happened…"

"What does that mean? " Azya asked quietly, concern in her voice.

"Usually, when youkai blood, especially blood of a Daiyoukai, like Lord Sesshomaru's mixes with that of a human, it always acts like a poison the would cause agonizing pain and eventually kill the recipient within days."

"But that's not happening here, is it?"

"No, but it doesn't make any sense why it would be different with you. I expected to smell an infection in your blood after having such extensive wounds not properly treated after almost a fortnight, but I don't."

"The injuries almost look like they are healing at a faster than normal rate for a human. Is the mark of the West making it so my blood is healing her and not kill her?" Sesshomaru asked.

"That is a good possibility, my lord."

"Okay…" Azya spoke slowly, "so say that his blood in my wounds is actually healing them at an accelerated rate, would that give any hope to my eyes healing?"

"There is no color left in your eyes, dear Azya, the chance for them to heal has long since passed" Yumi smiled sadly as she pulled all of her platinum hair up into a bun, leaving the maroon braid alone as she finished cleaning her face and bandaged her eyes.. "Even youkai can heal only so much and you only have a small amount within your blood."

"Then why do they still bleed?"

"Because there was so much damage and just like the rest of your wounds, they were deep. My lord, I would suggest some training to help your companion be able to utilize the remaining senses she has. Teach her to be able to sense her environment and the terrain around her, to be able to function if you are not there, to sense the life force of other beings and how to tell if they are human or otherwise so she can know the dangers around her."

"I'm right here, you know," Azya snapped quietly, as she pulled the spare haori he had given her two days prior on as she stood. "It had been a simple question about my sight, don't need to sound so pitiful about it."

"I apologize," Yumi spoke as she gathered several items and packed them into a bag and put the strap over Azya's shoulder. "In this pack are some supplies so you can continue to take care of your wounds. That child you mentioned seemed to know some of the work of healers and I would not worry about any sickness or infection from the wounds as they heal."

"Hn." Sesshomaru stood and wrapped his hand around Azya's upper arm and led her out of the hut without another word needed.

"You don't have to drag me around like this," Azya spoke as she stopped walking, and he glanced at her. "With it being your only arm, if you lead me around like this, does it not leave you vulnerable because it delays your ability to draw your blade?"

"You have a better idea?" Sesshomaru mused as he let her go and took a step back.

"A way that you can lead me without leaving yourself open? Yes," she smiled as she stepped towards him. She raised her right hand out as she moved until her hand landed upon his armored chest. She walked around him to his left side and her small hand gripped the empty sleeve. "I can still feel your movements if there are raised areas in the terrain like this and you do not have to worry."

"This Sesshomaru does not worry. If there was an attack against my person, you would be the first to feel it."

"I know," she smirked and he started walking and she followed without too much difficulty. Even with her smaller frame, she kept up well enough that he didn't feel her pull at his clothing enough to displace it. "Where are we going?"

"You need clothing. It is not respectful to wear such tight hamakas or to let your body reveal so much."

"I am injured, not stupid, Sessh. I do not know what style clothing your world has, nor do I know how they work. So until someone can explain to a blind person how they are and how to be able to dress without having to rely on someone, this is how it will be."

"Do not call me such ridiculous names," he sneered at the name she called him.

"Your name is too long," she muttered, and as he glanced down at her, she had a grin on her face. "You are just going to have to get used to it while you are stuck with me. So tell me something since you do not let me talk about my history unless we are camped for the night. You always call me human or woman, so if you are always referring me as such, what does that make you?"

"Inu Daiyoukai. Why is your hair so odd?"

"I happen to like it like this," she chuckled. "I guess you could say that when I first styled it like this, it was because I was rebelling against my parents, but I fell in love with it. I had recolored it a few days before the accident that brought me here."

"Recolored?"

"Yeah. It's a chemical that changes the color of hair but since hair is always growing, I would have to get the roots touched up."

"So this is not your natural color?"

"No, though the platinum is only a couple shades lighter than my original color, but I hated when people would say that I looked just like my mother, except the eyes. Hers were blue."

"And yours?"

"They used to be an amber color. People always used to say that they looked like pure gold and that they would seem to glow in any lighting," she spoke quietly as he led her into a fabric shop.

"Lord Sesshomaru, welcome. It is always a pleasure to have your business. Your retainer was here not too long ago, gathering clothing for a young human that followed him instead of your usual order," the panther youkai, Soro, spoke as he came into view. His long black hair braided over his left shoulder and his purple eyes showed amusement. "Another human in your care? How did you get into that predicament? Such injuries to have so many bandages, young one."

"Make some clothing for this one," Sesshomaru spoke as he pushed Azya forward. "With her current injuries, kimonos will only be tiresome. New clothing for this Sesshomaru is needed as well."

"I shall get started immediately. Nina, will your take care of our Lord's order please while I take care of this one?" Soro spoke as he led Azya into the shop, his arm around her shoulder gently guiding her. "You have such odd but beautiful hair, young one. What is your name?"

"Azya," she spoke as Sesshomaru followed them into the dressing room and sat against a wall. He would not leave Soro alone with his newest companion.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful young woman," Soro smiled as he pulled the haori off of her. "Now my dear, for me to get proper measurements, we must remove your strange hamakas and boots."

"You are an odd one," she chuckled before bending over to undo her shoes and kicked them off, almost hitting Sesshomaru with one of them.

"Woman," Sesshomaru growled.

"You're the pervert watching a woman having to dress down for a fitting," she grinned in his direction as she undid the button of her hamakas and slid them off, revealing purple fabric that covered her bottom.

"Such odd garments," Soro spoke as he touched the fabric, only to get his hand slapped roughly.

"I know that fittings do not require you to touch my ass," Azya spoke harshly.

"I…"

"Soro," Sesshomaru growled and the panther glanced his way before paling slightly.

"Right. Let us get started on making something comfortable for you."


	5. Chapter 5

The sun had set some time ago and Sesshomaru glanced at his pack as most of them slept near the fire. Rin and Jaken laid against Ah-Un's side, all three of them asleep while his other companion leaned against a tree, running her hands through the maroon hair that she had unbraided. She hummed quietly to herself as she played with her hair.

Her hamakas were purple and Soro had made them not so loose, per her request and they were tucked into her odd leather boots that went halfway up her calves. Her haori was black and the left sleeve went all the way down to her wrist while the right sleeve didn't even go off her shoulder, giving only a couple inches of fabric across her right shoulder. The inner haori was white and was tucked into her hamakas but the black outer haori was not tucked and had white sakura flowers along the bottom edge.

Soro had done well to listen to her requests as they had worked with the different fabrics, explaining each piece of her outfit to her and how to tie the purple obi that kept her outer haori tied. He even had her dress and undress several times without help so she could get a feel for the style before creating several more outfits for her which were in the saddle bags near Ah-Un with the other spare clothing for Rin, Jaken, and himself.

"Do you ever sleep Sessh?" Her voice was quiet, barely loud enough to be heard over the crackling of the fire, but with his heightened senses being a youkai, he heard her clearly.

"I do not require as much sleep," he spoke simply as he stood from his place and moved so he was sitting against a tree beside her. "Why do you not sleep? With your injuries, you need rest."

"I have slept so much since arriving here, I am not tired at the moment," she smiled as she braided the maroon strands before tying it off with a strange black circular band. "And these bandages are not comfortable. I don't want to complain, but it feels like Yumi wrapped them too tightly."

"Then why do you not remove them?"

"Because I do not want to have to wake up Rin to help me rewrap them after just having a healer apply an ointment to the wounds," she chuckled. "Children run through so much energy when they are awake that they become quite irritable if they do not get sufficient amounts of sleep. I will take care of it when she wakes."

"Come," Sesshomaru stood and pulled her to her feet.

"Where are we going?" Azya asked as she grabbed his empty sleeve.

"A clearing nearby so that this Sesshomaru can start training you to hone your senses."

Sesshomaru stopped in the center of the clearing and turned to face Azya as she let go of his sleeve. He stepped back to the edge of the clearing, seeing the frown on her lips. She sighed before removing her shoes and dug her toes in the dirt below her.

"Why remove your shoes first?" Sesshomaru asked, curious.

"I don't know. I always did love walking barefoot in the forests, like a form of meditation. When you are still, you can feel the vibrations of movement around you, even if they are very faint. Back home, medical studies talked a lot about what happens when you lose one of your senses, the others seem to work more, but you just no longer focus on as many senses and it helps you adjust to be able to use the remaining senses better. You don't talk much unless you have to so I had a feeling that a lot of this would be self-learning," she shrugged as she raised her head towards the night sky.

"Tell me what you sense here, what you feel, what you hear, what you smell, what you can taste," Sesshomaru spoke quietly.

"I can hear the wind. It's making the trees sway, I can feel the vibrations in the ground. I can hear the fire from camp and Jaken's annoying snores," she chuckled quietly. "There's other vibrations… footsteps? There is a lot of them, almost hard to distinguish the vibrations."

"There is a herd of deer about 50 yards away," Sesshomaru spoke and she nodded silently.

"150 feet away…? That's surprising. I smell jasmine flowers, there is a hint of pinewood, smoke and burning wood… and you… I can smell the eucalyptus that is in the paste on my wounds."

"You've mentioned my scent twice now," Sesshomaru walked towards her and she took a step back, gasping in surprise. As she took another step back, he caught her wrist and pulled her back towards him and she brought her other hand out to catch herself from falling and her hand hit his chest. "What do you sense from me Azya?"

"Um…" Sesshomaru felt her hand relax against his chest and her fingers spread across the silk of his haori. He watched her silently as she stood in front of him, her left hand still in his. "Your heartbeat is strong, but there is like an energy like a humming I can feel underneath each beat. Is that your inner youkai?"

"Hn."

"It's like we are in the center of a large bubble," she whispered after several long moments. "A barrier…?"

"Good," he spoke quietly and she smiled a little.

"Have you ever paid attention to the smell that comes with a rain during a hot summer's day? That earthy smell when the rain finally comes… That is probably the closest I could get in describing what your smell reminds me of. I did always love the smell of rain…" she faded off as her hand slid from his chest and fell limply to her side. "It was raining that day too… We… we should get back to the camp."

"Hn."

Sesshomaru let her hand go as she bent down and picked up her boots and she turned and started slowly making her way into the woods. He followed silently and watched. With each step she took, he saw no hesitation as she moved, her hand not holding her boots occasionally touching a passing tree. As she entered the clearing with the campfire, he heard her take a deep breath. She walked to the fire but stopped a couple feet away and turned to the left and stopped at the tree she had been sitting at before he pulled her away from the camp.

"You did well on your own without falling or hitting a tree," he mused quietly as he sat against a tree near her.

"Guess I did," she smiled. "I had all those scents and your energy still humming around me. I had been able to hear the campfire before the flare of senses and just followed the sounds back. I could smell the bark and sap of the trees and the ground was not full of overgrown roots, so I hoped that I wouldn't run into one. Though that may happen before I am really able to navigate by my four senses alone."

"That takes time and practice."

"I won't be able to read anymore, that's going to suck," Azya spoke after a moment and sighed.

"You are educated in literature and mathematics?"

"Everyone in my world is. In the past, they focused more on those who could pay for it but in the present, everyone is taught mathematics, science, social studies, writing, and language arts by the time they reach ten. We call it public education though now days, you'd get in trouble if you didn't enroll your children in school. Everyone is equal among education until you finish public education around 17 or 18 years. After that, any further education you have to pay for and most people do since the better education you had, the better paying job you'd get."

"Tell me more if you are not too tired."

"You search for knowledge to further yourself too? I will do my best, though I wasn't much into history," Azya smiled before started talking to him about technologies and transportation as they had evolved from what she had been told about from Rin of this world.


	6. Chapter 6

I own nothing from Inuyasha.

Pleas enjoy and review.

* * *

"No blood from the bandages around your eyes today," Rin spoke happily as she removed the bandages from her head. "Should we still rewrap them?"

"No need to waste supplies. If they start to bleed again, then we can wrap them," Azya smiled. "Jaken, where did Sesshomaru go? I don't feel his energy."

"That's Lord Sesshomaru to you, you pathetic human! And if he cared for you to know, he would have said something to you!"

"So in other words, you have no idea and are annoyed that you have to care for two humans while not bothering to tell you where he went," Azya chuckled, feeling irritation in Jaken's energy. "Rin, what do you do when you need to bathe?"

"Rin usually finds a river and is very quick," Rin giggled. "I really bathe any other way and it's usually only when I'm really dirty. You get sick if you bathe too often."

"Now that's a myth. It's only if its cold water. Your body cools very fast in cold water and if you can't warm up in time that is what causes you to get sick. Oh how I miss baths. At home, we could have indoor baths that was always hot and I would bathe every day.

"Won't your skin fall off if you did that?!" Rin gasped.

"Another myth, dearest Rin," Azya smiled as she pulled off her haori so Rin could unwrap her chest and clean the healing wounds.

"And what about if you don't eat for weeks. Wouldn't you die?"

"Yes, that one is true."

"Then why has Rin not seen you eat once?"

"It's have I, not has Rin."

"You haven't eaten anything since Rin found you and Lord Sesshomaru injured. Even Master Jaken has eaten more than you."

"I don't know, Rin," Azya spoke after a minute to think about when she last ate something. "Maybe I haven't because I have not felt hungry. I have slept a lot in the beginning, and you can't really eat when you're unconscious."

"I was always told that if you don't eat when you're injured, then it's equally bad," Rin pressed as she smeared the eucalyptus paste over her wounds.

"Rin, I'm not going to die. How about after you finish with this, we see if we can find some fruit or fish that we can eat for breakfast."

"Okay," Rin cheered and started to wrap her chest with a new enthusiasm.

When she finished, Azya pulled her haori back on and tied the obi as she stood. She stretched her arms above her head, careful not to agitate her wounds and couldn't help but laugh at the bubbling energy from the child beside her. She took a deep breath to focus herself and frowned sensing a foreign energy.

"Rin, get on Ah-Un," Azya spoke quietly as she felt the anger of the energy. "Jaken something unpleasant seems to be walking our way. Where the hell is Sesshomaru?"

"Azya…?" She heard Rin whisper and felt her small hand grab her sleeve and she felt her small body hide behind her instead of getting on the two-headed dragon like she ordered.

"Stay behind me," Azya whispered, wrapping an arm behind her around the girl.

"But what can you do…?"

"Just stay behind me, please. This energy is full of anger…"

"A boar youkai!" Jaken exclaimed. "I shall take care of him with my staff!"

"Look out Master Jaken!" Rin yelled as she pulled Azya backwards, feeling a large gust of air fly past her. "Azya, are you okay?"

"Yeah… Is it a large pig or is it actually humanoid?"

"Big pig," Rin gasped as Azya pulled her into her arms and jumped to the side, feeling the rush of air coming at them.

"So its anger is not directed at just one person… that makes more sense…" Azya gasped in pain as she situated Rin on her right hip and held her close as she focused on the vibrations she could feel with her bare feet and the gusts of air. She danced to the left as the boar charged again and heard Rin whimper as she wrapped her arms around her neck in fear. "I won't let it hurt you Rin. I can feel its movements. I'm sure Sesshomaru will come soon if Jaken cannot take care of it."

"My staff shoots fire and the boar is on you!" Jaken squawked.

"So you are useless," Azya snapped as she dodged another charge of the beast.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin cried as held on tighter.

"I need to hear, dearest Rin," Azya spoke gently, though it hurt to breathe but knew her right side was stronger even if it was injured.

Azya could feel the child's tears soak into her haori as she buried her head against her neck. She buried a hand into Rin's hair to hold her there while her other arm tightened under her as she dodged the boar again, stumbling back into a tree. Doing her best to not cry out at the motions, she spun behind the tree and felt it shake as the boar hit it. She could vaguely feel the hum of Sesshomaru's energy and started running towards it, dodging in and out of the trees as the boar chased. She hoped that she didn't trip, feeling the occasional root under her feet as she ran. Jaken screamed after her, but kept running once he told her that he could not kill the beast when it charged after her.

"Azya…?" Rin sobbed.

"Just hold on."

"But where are we going…?"

"It will be okay, let me focus. This terrain is very difficult to feel."

"But you're bleeding…"

"I know, Rin. I know," Azya spoke weakly as she dodged behind a tree as the boar gained ground.

She felt a branch hit her left arm, tearing through the fabric and heard the boar behind her bellow out a roar. As she focused on Sesshomaru's energy, she felt its steady hum start to fluctuate. Rin screamed as the boar hit a tree and they both could hear the crack of the wood as it started to fall.

"You damn mutt! How long does it take for you to notice when your pack is being attacked?!" Azya screamed out as loud as she could and felt his energy change completely and his energy flared out as he started to move towards her. She felt something hit her back and she fell forward, but rolled to the side so she didn't squish Rin but couldn't get a solid breath of air, having it knocked out of her from the impact to the ground. "Oh fuck that hurt…"

"Azya…" Rin sobbed.

"Run…" Azya gasped. "The way I was going… Run…"

"But I can't leave you…"

"You can and will… Run…!" Azya snapped as she pushed her in the direction of Sesshomaru's energy.

As she felt Rin's scared energy start to fade in the direction of Sesshomaru, she focused on the boar's energy as she rolled to the side to avoid getting attacked. Though it was easier to move without worrying about Rin, her entire right side was throbbing in pain and she couldn't get a single normal breath. She tried to get to her feet but felt something sharp hit her right side before she was thrown into a tree. She touched were the new pain was and felt something circular and jagged in her side.

"That's just great…" Azya groaned as she jerked the broken boar horn out of her side and gripped it tightly, hoping that she could use it in the same way that the boar had just used it on her. "That's just fucking great…! Not like I was bleeding or anything already! Come on you dumb beast!"

She heard the boar snort as it stomped the ground several times. It bellowed out before she felt it's movements to charge and she screamed back. Just when she thought the boar would reach her, she felt a heavy vibration beside her before hearing the sound of something like a whip before it fell completely silent for a couple seconds.

Azya tried to slow her ragged breathing, but a sob escaped her as she felt Sesshomaru's humming energy beside her and Rin's energy was no longer one of fear but of worry. She tightened her grip on the broken horn as she felt her body shake as her adrenaline faded and hot tears rolled down her cheeks. She felt his hand touch her shoulder and she lunged at him, fists closed.

"What took you, you bastard?" Azya sobbed as she punched him hard in the chest with the fist that didn't hold the boar horn. "That damn kappa was completely useless…"

"Azya," she heard Rin cry out before small arms wrapped around her, stopping her attacks on Sesshomaru. "You're safe now…"

"What could you possibly have been doing that took you so long to figure out what was happening? I could sense your energy so how the fuck could you not know?" Azya screamed as Rin pulled open her haori and ripped all the bandages off to see the damage.

"What happened to your side?" Rin asked frantically.

"This," she muttered as she lifted the broken horn, feeling the slick blood coating it and her hand.

"So you planned on using it to attack the boar…"

"If you had just been there or not give your retainer a weapon that has no precise attacks…! How is a two foot toad supposed to protect two separate humans?!"

"Azya…" Sesshomaru spoke coldly and she fell silent, knowing that her rant had done nothing except to vent. She felt herself get lifted up into his arm before feeling him start walking. "We need to get your wounds taken care of. That injury from the boar is deep."

"Really? I had no idea," Azya snapped sarcastically. "I only had all but an inch of this damn horn in my side. At least Rin didn't get hurt, that was my main worry…"

"You did well considering how little training you have in sensing the energies and life forces of others."

"So what exactly happened? I really thought that the boar was going to hit me…"

"This Sesshomaru forced it's redirection before killing it with my poison whip."

"Poison whip?" Azya felt her brows come together in her confusion.

"Using my energy, I can summon a whip from my claws."

"Of course you can. Egotistical dog with poison abilities who likes to make his pack fend for themselves," Azya chuckled weakly as she rested her head against his shoulder, all her energy fading fast. "I'm going to sleep now…"


	7. Chapter 7

A splash of water was heard over the sound of a fire nearby. The quiet familiar breaths of when Rin would sleep reached her from somewhere beyond the sound of the fire along with Jaken's obnoxious snores. Another quiet splash of water that was louder than the quiet movements of water hitting land.

Azya rolled over quietly as she got her knees under her and whimpered as her injuries complained of the movements. She took a slow breath and opened her senses to orient herself and where she was in terms of distance from those sleeping nearby. She could feel Ah-Un from the vibrations of his breathes against the earth and knew that he was only a couple paces away while Rin and Jaken were across the fire from her near twenty paces away. She could feel Sesshomaru by the hum of his aura and it came from the water.

"Odd time to bathe," she whispered so not to alert their sleeping companions.

"You have finally awakened." His voice was quiet, barely loud enough to reach her over the sounds of the water and fire.

"How much time has passed?" She asked as she got to her feet, noticing that they were still bare and slightly cold from the night chill she could sense.

"Six days," he spoke as she walked closer to the sound of the water.

"I wasn't fast enough," Azya sighed as she knelt down at the water's edge one arm around her waist while using the other to steady her and felt a pile of clothing beside her that was the same material as Sesshomaru's. She moved so she could sit and slid her feet into the water, surprised by it's warmth. "A hot spring...? That feels nice."

"You did as well as you could with how much you knew. When your injuries heal, your training shall continue." She heard the splashes move closer before she felt the fabric beside her be picked up as several drops of water landed on her bare arm. "If you wish to bathe, you may."

"Yeah right, leave myself completely open while males are able to see? I'll pass," Azya snorted as she felt her face heat up as she felt his movements as he dressed, only a foot away. "It must have been some time since you lost your arm to be able to dress so quickly."

"A missing limb has never hampered this Sesshomaru's abilities. I shall take Jaken and gather food for you this morning. The sun shall be up soon," he spoke before she heard Jaken squawk in surprise before she sensed them moving further away.

"Azya! Your awake!" She felt Rin move closer before small arms came around her. "Lord Sesshomaru just left."

"Good. Now dearest Rin, would you help me so I can bathe before they return?" Azya smiled as she started to remove her clothing. "I would like to have pants on before they return."

"Okay," Run spoke cheerfully as she started to remove the bandages.

After everything came off, she slid into the water carefully and Rin held her hand and pulled her in further till the water came to her waist. She pulled the tie from her braid and ran her fingers through, knowing that it had been too long since she had combed it as she moved so she was on her knees so Rin could wash her hair, hissing quietly as the warm water ran over her wounds. Rin hummed quietly as she helped her get clean before helping her back to shore. She got her underclothing and pants on before sitting down so Rin could put the ointment on the wounds before bandaging them.

"How are my injuries looking?" Azya asked as she pulled all of her hair into a high bun so it wasn't in the way.

"The wound of the boar is the only one that still bleeds. The others are almost healed up, even the one on your chest. Rin has noticed that as they get better, there's no markings left behind from the first wounds but the wound of the boar is."

"That's interesting," Azya frowned. "Only the boar wound scars...?"

"Lord Sesshomaru, where are you?" Azya heard Jaken squawk and sighed quietly.

"No rest for the injured," she muttered as Rin helped her put her haoris on.

"Good morning Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin hummed happily. "Yay food! Azya, Lord Sesshomaru brought a deer. How would you like your cooked?"

"I'm not really that hungry..."

"No, you are eating Azya, even if I have to make you. Rin has not seen you eat once since I first met you," Rin demanded.

"The meat's center should be a nice pink when it is done cooking," Azya sighed as she stood and made her way over to where she could smell a tree and leaned against it as she sat.

"But it isn't cooked all the way at that point..."

"I like the flavor that the juices give, besides it is easier to eat. Cook it too much and it gets too hard to eat," Azya shrugged. "That's the way I'll eat it."

"How has this Sesshomaru not realized you haven't eaten in the last month?" His voice was quiet, but she heard the irritation as he sat beside her, his right shoulder brushing her left as he got comfortable.

"Because most of it I've been asleep or unconscious? I'm used to not eating a lot, sometimes maybe every other day. I worked at lot back home that I never had time, so my body adjusted. That and I haven't felt any pains from hunger so I never really noticed until Rin mentioned it last week, but then that boar had attacked. I haven't seen you eat either Sessh."

"I do not need sustenance as often as humans, but I do on occasion when I patrol."

"Because you are youkai?"

"Hn."

"Is there anything you cannot do?" Azya chuckled and heard her companion snort quietly in amusement. "Did you hear what Rin was saying about my wounds?"

"Jaken was talking."

"There has been no scaring as my injuries heal. All the injuries that I had received before arriving here are almost all gone, and no scaring, but the boar wound scars. The blood from you must have finally left my body."

"I see..."

"Your meat is done Azya!" Rin called before she heard her come over and placed a stick in her hand. "I cut it up so it would be easier for you to handle."

"Thank you dearest Rin," Azya smiled. "Will we start traveling again today?"

"Not until your wounds stop bleeding at the simplest movements."

"That's fair I guess," Azya chuckled before pulling off a piece of the meat off the kabob that Rin had made and sighed quietly as the flavors coursed though her mouth. She finished her share, glad that Rin had made her a large portion. "Thank you for the meat Sessh. It may have been simple being cooked over a fire but it was good."

"Hn," he hummed in response and she thought she heard some humor in his simple response but couldn't be quite sure since she could no longer see.

She laid her head on his shoulder and relaxed, her aching body causing her to already be exhausted. Now that she was not moving, she could tell the distinct difference of when Sesshomaru's blood still had been in her body and now. There was a lot more pain, she was physically tired, and she had a small feeling that his blood had been a huge factor of her not feeling hungry, considering how little he ate.

"Woman," his chest rumbled in disapproval.

"I am noticing the differences now that I am healing on my own," she mused quietly so not to disturb Rin singing as she talked about flowers nearby to Ah-Un. "Must be nice to be youkai."

"Azya, are you okay?" she heard Rin ask before small hands touched her knees.

"Just tired, dearest Rin. Do not worry about me."

"Then you should lay down…"

"I'm quite comfortable here. Laying on the ground isn't always comfortable since I cannot lay any other way than on my back while I heal. Why don't you tell me this land, the villages, how people live their lives when not dealing with attacks of youkai?"

"Okay," Rin singing before sitting to her right against the tree and started to talk adamantly about everything she knew.


	8. Chapter 8

Two days had passed since Azya woke up and Rin had just fallen asleep for the night. Jaken had taken Ah-Un somewhere so he could hunt and Sesshomaru was nearby patrolling the area. Azya moved so she was near the hot spring and pulled her hair out of the bun she had left it in and felt the snarls as she pulled out the hair tie. Wetting her hands before running her hands through the tangles, Azya worked on combing through her hair while sorting through her thoughts. Rin had told her a lot about this world but as she thought about it, it felt familiar apart from all the youkai and hanyou.

"What is on your mind?" Sesshomaru's voice came from behind her.

"Just thinking," she mused as she started to French braid her hair. "I never was really great at my history classes, but since Rin had been telling me about your world, it seems to be all too familiar... Like I've been thrown into the past, but the only mention of youkai and hanyou is fictional stories. Just a coincidence I suppose, many histories have simpler times like your world. I haven't asked before, probably because I've been dealing with my own injuries, but how did you come to be in that clearing injured?"

This Sesshomaru was careless. I search for power and a half-breed that shares blood from this one's sire, carries a weapon formed from a fang of the sire that we share. The half-breed is not worthy to carry such a formidable weapon," he spoke as he sat beside her.

"So this half-breed is your half brother?"

"No matter how much blood we share, there is no relation."

"If it were so easy to claim this weapon, you would have it at your waist, so what stops you?"

"This Sesshomaru cannot touch it without being hurt, but since the half-breed had managed to take my left arm, I have been trying to find a sufficient replacement to be able to wield Tessaiga."

"So how were you hurt? I figured that your missing arm was before I met you."

"During our last battle, the half-breed managed to be able to access the true power of the Tessaiga and if not for the Tenseiga at my side, I'm sure that the outcome would have been different."

"So what do you plan on doing about him?"

"I will get the Tessaiga soon enough."

"A continuous quest for knowledge and power, makes sense. What about everyone calling you Lord Sesshomaru? And the mark you mentioned before..."

"This Sesshomaru is Lord of the Western Lands. The mark on your chest is the mark of the Western Lands, a mark of the highest rank that could be bestowed on a being without mating."

"Oh... Wait... If your Lord over the west, why do you travel so much? Isn't there duties that a lord must do daily?"

"A servants work. I patrol my lands and protect my domain. The beginning of every other lunar cycle this Sesshomaru returns the castle as a formality."

"Gotcha," Azya chuckled as she finally tied her braid off. "Family responsibility passed down to the first heir unwillingly. I can understand that one personally."

"Explain."

"I've told you a lot of my world already. My parents all business and no care for free time. They expected me to become a partner as soon as I finished school so that when they stepped down, I take over, but I refused them because that wasn't what I wanted. They were nonstop persistent and refused to accept my answer so I ended up running away at 15 and they ended up disowning me at because I brought shame to the family name. It's funny though, they were part of the reason for why I ended up in that accident. They had pissed me off that I didn't pay attention to the road that night. In your world, I bet you couldn't exactly just say no. There is a lot more culture and tradition that is followed here."

"Hn."

"I'm glad that your father was able to give me a second chance to live. Your world is quite nice, even with all the dangers. I wish I could have been able see it and all the beauties your world holds," Azya smiled as she turned towards the youkai sitting beside her.

"Drink" he muttered quietly before she felt his wrist press against her lips and she felt a warm liquid against his wrist as she smelt blood. "This Sesshomaru needs to continue the quest to gain the Tessaiga."

Azya hummed in amusement at his response before opening her mouth to let his blood enter her mouth. She winced a little as the metallic smell and taste filled her senses and could taste a sweetness under everything. She brought one had to his forearm while sliding the other into his hand, wrapping her fingers around his as she felt the bite he had given to cause the wound.

"Do not bite down," he warned, his voice deeper than normal.

"I do not like being a vampire," Azya spoke quietly, pulling away as she felt the wound close. She took a deep breath as she felt his blood rush through her body and her pain faded away. "That's a different experience to feel it work than to wake up with it. It's like a tingling as it focuses around the wound..."

She stopped talking as she focused on the feeling and felt tears escape her closed eyes. She could feel Sesshomaru's confusion as he watched her, his arm still in her hands, but remained quiet for the moment as she took a shaky breath. The tingling she could feel in her side was also in her damaged eyes.

"Woman." Sesshomaru finally spoke, irritation in his voice.

"I can feel it..." she whispered weakly as she let go of his hand and brought both hands up to press the tips to her eyes. "What could that mean... I thought they healed as much as they could..."

"This Sesshomaru does not know. There has never been studies of youkai blood actually healing humans. Rest, we leave at dawn," he spoke simply before standing up and walked back towards the fire.

"You don't have much patience for waiting around, do you?" Azya chuckled as she stood and worked her way to the pelts she had been sleeping on and felt Sesshomaru against a tree beside her.

"Too much time has gone by, it is time to continue forward."

"I apologize that you are burdened by myself with such a disability…"

"Time and practice are required to master skills and to master not having your sight is a difficult one. It is only a disability when you give up trying."

"I see…" she whispered as she laid on the pelts. "I shall do my best to continue to improve under your supervision. The tingling in my eyes is not something to hope for, the injuries are still healing, but I need to accept that my sight will not return and move forward. Night Sesshomaru."


	9. Chapter 9

I own nothing from Inuyasha. This chapter contains a bit of dialogue from episodes 44 and 45 as I work to incorporate Azya Kazuki into this story the best I can as she works down the new path laid for her. There won't be a lot of chapters like this so bear with me.

Please Enjoy and Reivew!

* * *

"I thought you were wanting to continue your quest for obtaining Tessaiga?" Azya sighed as she stood barefoot in what she could sense was a clearing. She could feel Rin near the clearing's edge with Jaken and Ah-Un while Sesshomaru stood before her a few feet away.

"You were the one complaining about the capabilities of this one's retainer. If that is how it is going to be, then you need to learn to defend yourself. You already have improved much to be able to walk on your own, even how well you did avoiding that boar youkai. Since you can already feel the life forces around you, learning to defend yourself and eventually learn to fight back will come easier," Sesshomaru spoke.

"I hate you already," Azya muttered before taking a deep breath to center herself.

A small breeze rushed past her and she got a faint whiff of Sesshomaru's scent and the flowers that Rin sung about around them. She could feel the grass brush against her ankles in the breeze and could hear the slight sound of grass being crushed as she felt the vibrations of foot steps towards her. She stepped to the left and felt an increased pressure of wind rush past her, knowing that Sesshomaru had rushed her without warning. She felt the increased pressure come at her again from behind and crouched low feeling the pressure not on the ground and felt Sesshomaru go over her.

He rushed at her again and stopped short before she felt a small change of the wind coming at her head and she brought her hands up as she bent herself backwards, realizing that he swung a punch at her. She huffed in response as she jumped back and straightened back up. He started to speed up his attacks, some full body movements, others from either his arms or legs. She didn't dare try to throw an attack since she didn't really know how to fight, and with his increased movements, she didn't know how well she would do to adjust from defense to offense.

The continuous attacks continued with no sign of stopping and she wondered if he was trying to build her endurance as well with this training. It got harder to control her breathing as she started to tire, but was glad she felt no pain considering the boar wound still bled some and she could feel it starting to saturate her heavy bandages. Finally she felt a centralized pressure coming directly at her face, she brought her arms up in hope to block, as she gasped for air and felt impact against her forearms, but could already tell that he had held back.

"Good," he spoke finally as he lowered his arm and stepped back only a couple paces. "You are bleeding."

"I figured that a while ago. I can feel that the bandages are saturated," Azya sighed as she untied her haori and touched the bandages around her waist, trying to ignore the fact that he was probably watching her. She felt the warm liquid soak her hand but then felt something tug on the strap of her bra. She slapped at the tugging and came in contact with Sesshomaru's hand by the sound of his growl at her. "Seriously? It's not okay to just go touching people like that."

"Strange garments," he finally spoke and Azya snorted as she turned and headed in Rin's direction to get her wound checked.

"Azya, you're bleeding!" Rin exclaimed before she felt her small hands work on removing the bandages around her waist.

"It will take a little longer before it heals up enough to stop bleeding. I could feel it but it did not start bleeding outside the bandages. I'm sure Sesshomaru would have stopped the training if it had bled that much," Azya spoke as she let Rin lead her over to where she could take care of the bleeding wound.

Azya sat and let her haori fall to pool around her waist and she rested her arms on top of her head while Rin got to work cleaning the wound so that she could smear the ointment and rewrap her side. As she sat there, she felt a strange fluctuation from a far distance away and frowned. She opened her senses and could feel Sesshomaru's large barrier to keep most life from coming near the camp, but the fluctuations she could sense were youkai and had a malice to the energy before it was suddenly cut short.

"Sesshomaru, did you sense that?" Azya spoke calmly.

"Hn."

"What could have caused such a large youkai fluctuation?" she asked as Rin finished and she pulled her haori back on and tied it.

"A battle ending in a demon being slain. Come," Sesshomaru spoke before she felt him start to move in the direction she had felt the youkai energy.

Rin slid everything into Ah-Un's saddle bags before running after Jaken, laughing. Azya sighed quietly as she stood, stretching her sore body and felt Ah-Un press their snouts into her bag. She smiled at the dragon as she grabbed his reigns and followed after them. She had given up on shoes and they remained in a bag on Ah-Un's back since it was easier to navigate the woods and terrain.

She felt Sesshomaru slow down some so that she could catch up and felt him to her right as he kept pace with her. She could hear Jaken yelling after Rin as she kept ahead of the kappa, laughing the whole way. Finally she didn't have to try hard to be able to sense the remnants of what battle had taken place.

"These old legs can't keep up," Jaken huffed as she felt him stop some ways a head of her.

"I beat you," Rin exclaimed happily, stopping as well.

"Oh, you fool. We weren't in a race," Jaken scolded and Azya chuckled at his sour attitude.

"Look at that master Jaken. It's a slain demon, just as lord Sesshomaru explained to us."

"Who on earth could have done this?" Jaken gasped and Azya frowned as she could sense faded life forces over a large area of space.

"Inuyasha," Sesshomaru spoke after a minute and Azya opened her senses to take in the lingering youkai.

"Lord Sesshomaru…"

"Inuyasha did this. Although I doubt he was able to escape unscathed," Sesshomaru interrupted and she could sense him picking up the largest piece of faded life force, realizing that these pieces used to be part of some youkai that couldn't take human form and Rin started to scream. "Come with me."

"We're taking the head with us?" Jaken asked as Azya started walking after Sesshomaru, puzzled by what she could sense.

"Enough of that, Rin. Stop it."

"Yes, my lord," Rin called, immediately stopping and Azya could feel her catch up.

"Sesshomaru?" Azya asked as she caught up to him easily. "What happened back there? Why do I sense what I usually smell within your blood? Who's this Inuyasha?"

"He is the half-breed. It is baffling as to why his blood has changed to smell like a youkai instead of a hanyou," Sesshomaru spoke and she could feel frustration in his energy.

"Where are we going, carrying youkai remains?"

"This youkai was able to break the Tessaiga. There is a swordsmith that can turn the fangs of this youkai into a sword stronger than Tessaiga."

"I see," she smiled.

"You and Rin remain here, Kaijinbo lives in a miasma swamp. Jaken come," Sesshomaru spoke before walking off.

"Be safe!" Rin called as she grabbed Azya's hand. "Not much of a place to camp…"

"Ah-Un, find us a place to rest. If by a hot spring, that would be preferred," Azya spoke before feeling the two-headed gently pull her in a direction.

"How long do you think they'll be gone?" Rin asked quietly as they walked some distance before stopping. "Thank you Ah-Un! He found a hot spring like you asked!"

"Thank you friend," Azya smiled as she felt one of their heads come near her face and she nuzzled his scaly chin. "Gather some wood Rin, I can feel the night's chill coming."

"Okay."

Azya felt her way through the saddle bags and pulled out the pelts and laid them out before removing the saddle from Ah-Un's back and let them slide to the ground and felt the two-headed dragon step around the clearing before laying down. Rin worked on getting the fire going while Azya felt around the bags, sensing the dried meat and pulled some out since she did not know how to hunt and without Sesshomaru or Jaken, she did not want either of them to leave Ah-Un's side.

* * *

"I wonder what is taking lord Sesshomaru so long," Rin sighed quietly from her place near the fire and Azya chuckled as she leaned against a tree though she worried as well as it came to the end of the third day since they had left.

She could sense several harsh energies some distance away and a similar energy to that of the one she sensed when they came across the dead youkai. There was another odd energy that was almost exactly alike to the dead youkai, but it was far enough away from her and Rin, that she hoped that it was coincidence. She could sense Sesshomaru and Jaken the opposite way, but remained quiet while Rin moped beside the fire, the young girl entertained Azya with her personality.

"That fool Kaijinbo, where in the world could he have gotten to with your sword?" Jaken's voice finally came into hearing range, squawking as usual.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin laughed and she sensed her starting to run towards him.

Stop Rin, do not move," Sesshomaru ordered before jumping across the clearing and she felt his energy coming right at her.

"Move you worthless woman!" Jaken squawked and Azya dashed forward, under Sesshomaru's body as he dashed past her and hurried over to where she could feel Rin, who true to Sesshomaru's command, was not moving or talking.

"A woman," Sesshomaru spoke as she heard trees falling.

"I know that scent," Jaken spoke, sniffing the air. "She smells much like that strange beast that offered to lend you the severed human arm. The demon that disguised himself with a baboon pelt. His wretched plan took us to hell and back. Curse him! Your arm was almost burnt off and I was beaten to a pulp by that monk! Oh, simply recalling that incident makes me ill."

"I recall the scent. It is the same as the beast that attempted to trap me, the one who is known as Naraku."

"So, you must be Inuyasha's brother Sesshomaru," a woman spoke. "You're very clever. I am Kagura, the wind sorceress. An incarnation of Naraku."

"Incarnation?"

"Correct. Sesshomaru, the fangs you delivered to Kaijinbo to make your sword were those a demon called Goshinki. Like me, he was also created from Naraku."

"All very interesting, but did you search me out to simply tell me this?"

"Hmm. Can you not detect its scent? Tokijin reeks of Goshinki's aura. It is closer than you think," the woman spoke before there was a massive updraft of wind and Azya could faintly detect the woman's aura high above her. "You are the sword's rightful owner."

"I am not sorry to see her leave so soon," Jaken huffed. "I don't believe I've seen such an arrogant woman."

"Rin, you're free to move now," Sesshomaru spoke.

"Yes, my lord," Rin spoke happily.

"The Tokijin," Sesshomaru spoke quietly.

"Speaking of strange women," Jaken muttered as Azya heard Rin start stretching and fell into her.

"Silly Rin," Azya chuckled as she steadied her before walking towards Sesshomaru.

"The aura she mentioned, is that what I have sensed for most of today?"

"Hn. Stay here with Jaken."

"No," Azya snapped as she gripped his empty haori sleeve. "Not that I don't want to obey, but last time we were left with Jaken, I got more injuries. I know how to stay out of the way Sesshomaru, but I need to learn how to sense movements of other battles if I am going to one day be able to fight back."

"Get on Ah-Un," he spoke after a minute. "Jaken, any harm comes to Rin and your head will roll."

"Y-yes, my lord…" Jaken stammered and Azya hurried over to the two-headed dragon as he got to his feet lazily.


	10. Chapter 10

Azya sensed Sesshomaru get onto Ah-Un's back as she hurried over and he took her outstretched hand and pulled her onto the two-headed dragons back behind him as she felt the ground quickly get further away. She grabbed onto Sesshomaru's armor to keep herself up and felt him lean forward for a second before she heard what sounded like hardened leather and metal hit Ah-Un's scales. The wind flew past them and she leaned closer to Sesshomaru so his hair would not continue to whip her before the wind slowed.

She could sense over half a dozen energies close below them on the ground: one full of malice like the youkai that had died days before, several youkai, humans, and one that felt like it was in between which meant that it was probably hanyou. She heard the zapping of electricity and felt Ah-Un's energy build up intensely before it shot towards the energies below. Then she felt Sesshomaru push her hands away before she felt his energy plummet towards the ground as well.

"He really just jumped off?" Azya chuckled as she carefully scooted forward and found the reigns as Ah-Un started to move again and the ground got closer.

"Sesshomaru," a male voice spoke before she heard an older one start yelling.

"Oh, no! Not him!" the old man yelled.

"What the hell are you doing here?" the first male demanded, his energy the one mixed between youkai and human, and she slid off Ah-Un's back some distance away from the group and focused on her senses, knowing that Ah-Un would watch over her.

"Just what I would ask you. I've merely come for this sword," Sesshomaru responded, his voice cold. "It seems the demon you killed was so bitter, it desired revenge even after its remains were forged into a sword."

"What?"

"How does he know that Tokijin was created from Goshinki's fangs?" a woman gasped, her energy similar to Rin's but filled with knowledge and determination.

"It must mean that…" another male spoke and Azya could feel a purity within his aura under lecherous intent.

"I was the one who commissioned Kaijinbo to make this sword," Sesshomaru interrupted and Azya heard several gasps.

"Sesshomaru, you must not touch Tokijin!" the old man croaked, and she could sense youkai from him as his aura was behind the one with a mixed aura. "Even you will be possessed by the sword's evil aura. Heed my warning, I implore you!"

"Hn," Sesshomaru responded and Azya felt his energy fluctuate with anger before he moved closer to the evil energy and she heard the sound of metal scrape against rocks as she felt the energy dissipate slowly. "Pathetic fool. Just who do you take me for?"

"The evil aura!" the man with a mostly pure aura gasped. "It's… dissipating!"

"The evil aura was overtaken by Sesshomaru. I don't care much for him," the old man spoke quietly and Azya laughed quietly.

"Hm. I see the sword has chosen me as its master," Sesshomaru spoke after a minute. "Draw your sword, Inuyasha. There's something I wish to verify."

"Something about me?" the first male growled and Azya was glad to put a name to the aura. This was the half-breed Sesshomaru had mentioned several times when she talked to him.

"Don't do it, Inuyasha!" another woman spoke, her voice making Azya think she was younger than the rest and could sense nothing but a purity in her aura, stronger than the lecherous male's.

"Would you let go of me?" Inuyasha snapped.

"Do you honestly think you can defeat him?" the old man muttered.

"Huh. I can't exactly tell him to come back when I'm finished training," Inuyasha scoffed and Azya had to agree with him. She didn't know Sesshomaru to have much patience for anything.

"Precisely, come at me, little brother," Sesshomaru spoke, his voice taunting, but she was surprised that he had addressed Inuyasha as family if he claimed there was no relation. "I'll make it easy. I shall came for you."

"Huh," Inuyasha scoffed as she felt Sesshomaru run towards his aura. "You're going to regret this, Sesshomaru!"

"Too cocky, don't you think Ah-Un?" Azya asked before hearing a loud clang of metal on metal as the two brother's energies landed right on top of each other before she heard Inuyasha grunting at the impact.

"The best he can do is block the attack," the girl with the pure aura spoke, surprise in her voice.

"His sword is too powerful for him!" a male child chimed in and Azya laughed at how well it seemed that this group of beings seemed to do well at commentary as she focused on the brothers as she sensed sesshoamru still attacking inuyasha and the clanging of metal continued.

"This isn't looking good," the old man spoke.

"Is there no chance that inuyasha can defeat him?" the man with the partial pure aura asked.

"Yeah, he still doesn't know how to handle Tessaiga. Beside's he's up against tokijin," the old man responded. "A dangerous sword in anyone's hands, and now that it's being wielded by Sesshomaru…"

"Aw, damn it to hell," Inuyasha muttered as the clanging stopped and Azya felt the wind pick up around the area.

"What? Have you altered your combat strategy? Usually you charge at me blindly with great haste," Sesshomaru commented.

"Huh. Whatever you say," Inuyasha scoffed before she sensed him running at Sesshomaru as he started to scream. The two swords collided again and she could hear sparks flying at the force.

"Ahh. Tessaiga has become heavier, I see."

"It's a lot heavier, you stupid jackass!"

"He has quite the mouth on him," Azya mused quietly.

"Hmph. The sword is too heavy for you. You're better off without it," Sesshomaru spoke forcefully as she heard him swing before she heard a sword go flying into the air before Inuyasha yelled and a heavy impact vibrated the earth beneath her feet as she felt two different impacts.

"Look at Tessaiga!" the partial pure leech gasped.

"Inuyasha!" the girl screamed at the same time.

"He doesn't stand a chance against his brother!" the child cried out.

"Damn it all," Azya heard Inuyasha sigh before he started to run at Sesshomaru again, the faint energy of his sword unmoving.

"Come back Inuyasha!" the girl screamed again

"He's going to fight him with his bare hands!" the child wailed and Azya almost wished she had stayed with Rin and Jaken with how much this group complained and yelled.

"They don't support the half-breed at all," Azya chuckled before feeling Sesshomaru's aura fluctuate as it seemed to focus into his new sword and she sensed the energy shoot out of the blade's tip before hearing Inuyasha cry out as whatever the attack that Sesshomaru used hit him.

"He's been thrown by the power of the sword!" the woman who seemed to have a minimal pure energy gasped before Azya felt the impact of Inuyasha hitting the ground.

"I've seen all that I needed," Sesshomaru spoke before Azya felt his energy shift completely as he started to run towards where Inuyasha was. "Die!"

"Look out, Inuyasha! He's coming for you!" the human male with some purity yelled out.

"No shit Sherlock," Azya deadpanned before she felt a huge shift in Inuyasha's energy. "Sesshomaru! His energy!"

She felt all of the group's energies move to Inuyasha before feeling a huge burst of heat as if from a fire and ran towards Sesshomaru as Ah-Un followed. As she reached the western lord, she sensed all their energies fleeing from them and frowned. She grabbed Sesshomaru's empty sleeve quietly as the dragon stopped several paces behind him.

"Sesshomaru, what happened to his aura?" Azya asked, confused at the flicker of fear she could feel in his energy as it calmed down. "Is he not just a half-breed?"

"So you could sense the shift of his demon side?"

"Yeah, it was unsettling," she spoke quietly as she let him lead her back the way they came towards the faint energy of Jaken and Rin. "Most of that group's energies were not like those I have met before, but we should get back to the other two…"

"Hn," Sesshomaru spoke before she was picked up and placed on Ah-Un's back and he sat behind her as the dragon flew off into the sky to make the trip quicker.


	11. Chapter 11

Azya sighed as the water of the hot spring warmed her sore body from another day training. Rin and Jaken were already asleep while Sesshomaru patrolled the area so that she could bath in private. The boar wound had finally healed completely but she could feel the circular scar where it had begun to scar before Sesshomaru had given her more of his blood to heal her. She could feel humans just outside Sesshomaru's barrier at the far end of the hot spring and hoped that they did not bother her.

She sat near the center of the spring against a rock with her hair over her shoulders to cover her breasts as the water moved against her waist. She felt the center of her chest and could tell a difference in the skin textures and she traced the shape, recognizing the shape to be a crescent moon and the texture was almost like the flower petals of a rose verses the softness of her skin. She felt her body relax in the water and smiled before she heard several splashes close by.

Azya frowned as she focused on the energies and realized that they were practically on the other side of the rock that she was against. As she paid attention, she realized that it was two familiar energies from the other day when they went after Inuyasha and Tokijin. She eased herself into the water and worked her way back towards the camp as quietly as she could. They were companions to Inuyasha and not allies with Sesshomaru.

"What was that?" she heard the girl with the pure energy say and flinched.

"There's someone on the other side of the rock Kagome," the other woman spoke, the one she had sensed knowledge and determination from.

"Hello," the girl, Kagome, spoke and Azya retreated quicker, but to a shore across from Sesshomaru's camp. Once he sensed these two, he would show up and expect a threat of the half-breed. "It's okay, we won't hurt you."

"I wouldn't worry about me," Azya muttered as she reached waist deep water near the shore she had headed for and brought an arm around her breasts. "My companion will not be happy when he realizes you are within his protective barrier."

"Such odd hair," the woman spoke that she still had no name to go with.

"You should return to the half-breed humans," Azya spoke as she turned to face them. "You are not exactly equipped for a fight with a Daiyoukai."

"Sango, that mark…"

"Same as Inuyasha's older brother…" the woman now known as Sango gasped. "Who are you?"

"You won't even look at us, who are you and what is that mark?" Kagome demanded.

"Believe me, if I could see you, I would," Azya spoke as she opened her eyes at them, hearing their gasps of surprise as she sensed Sesshomaru behind her in the tree line, "but as to who I am, it is no concern to my companion's enemies. Sesshomaru?"

"You are trespassing," Sesshomaru spoke as he walked closer and she felt him at the edge of the water behind her. "Leave."

"Sesshomaru!" Both the women gasped and Azya smirked.

"Surely a child with such a pure aura could have sensed the youkai barrier?" Azya chuckled.

"If your blind, how do you know about her miko abilities?" Sango demanded.

"My companion has taught me much in being able to sense the life force of other beings. I can also tell that your weapons are back at shore, way too far away if you are attacked."

"Wait… your hair… I've seen your face before…" Kagome spoke after a minute. "Where are you from?"

"I come from the lands of my companion to the west."

"That can't be true…"

"Kagome?" Sango asked confusion in her voice and aura.

"You look like her, like Azya Kazuki, a girl who died near my home," Kagome gasped.

"Do not mistake me with some weak child," Azya spoke, hiding the confusion and surprise that this girl knew who she was.

"Woman, come," Sesshomaru spoke from behind her.

"Kagome, what are you talking about?"

"This girl got into a severe accident back home near the shrine. All witnesses said she died, but her body disappeared that night. A lightning strike had hit her body and everyone just though that it was so powerful that her body was completely destroyed, but seeing you… your hair is exactly like that of the one on the alter at the shrine. Her sight had been damaged from the accident…"

"Sesshomaru," Azya turned to her companion as she waded to shore and felt the satin fabric of his haori fall around her shoulders as she felt his one arm pull her against him, noticing that he did not wear his armor at that moment.

"There are too many likenesses to be coincidence! Do you not realize that you could go home Azya?!" Kagome yelled after her and she stiffened in Sesshomaru's arm, but she did not turn to face them.

"Home…?" Azya chuckled and felt Sesshomaru's hand tighten around her shoulder. "How could you think that home is any place else except at the place beside my pack? Even if you did speak the truth, why would I want to return to such a fucked up place?"

"Your family…"

"Don't make me laugh girl," Azya snapped as she turned her head towards them. "My family disowned me years ago. They caused my accident and that is the only reason that I am grateful to them because now I can live my way in peace."

"You don't even know where you are, do you?" she heard the sadness and scoffed.

"I honestly don't care, girl. I am happy where I am at, even if it is a world of youkai and priests."

"But Azya… you're in the right world… your just not in the right time!"

"Stop talking nonsense."

"You're 500 years into the past, in the Sengoku Period."

"I've heard enough," Azya spoke quietly as she turned back towards Sesshomaru.

"Azya…!"

"This Sesshomaru will allow you to return back to your camp. Do not make the mistake of coming near my pack again," Sesshomaru growled.

Azya felt herself get pulled into Sesshomaru's arm and she felt him jump into the air before landing near the camp where Rin and Jaken still slept. He set her down near her clothes and she dressed quickly, ignoring the fact that he stood beside her and handed him back his haori. She braided the long strands of her maroon hair, feeling a chill wash over her body, making it hard to move.

"Sessh…" her voice gave out and felt him pull her into his arm again before walking closer to the fire. He sat against a tree and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him as she felt herself shake. "That's why it felt familiar when Rin would tell me about this place…"

"You wish to return home," he spoke, his voice cold.

"What would I have to gain by returning there?" she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. She was surprised that he was letting her sit in his lap, but was grateful as she felt his warmth and laid her head on his shoulder. "I've told you about my world, Sessh. Besides the fact that I would have to relearn how to do anything, I've been disowned, and killed in that world so I am positive that my funds have been returned to my parents. That world is congested and toxic, the air polluted by all the technologies we have created. That world does not have Rin, or Jaken, or even you, so why would I abandon the pack that took me in for a world where I have nothing?"

"Then explain your tears."

"I don't know. Shock, maybe? Surprise that someone recognized me because they also are from that world? I'm happy here, Sessh. I may be blind and weak because I am human, but I have no regrets staying. I would regret it more if I returned to that world and in return, abandoning this pack."

"Your world have technologies and medicines stronger."

"Even we could not figure out how to return someone's sight."

"You have not bled once while in this pack, woman. It is not healthy for a human female your age to not bleed."

"Wh…what…?" Azya felt her face heat up and she pushed herself out of Sesshomaru's arm. "Besides the fact that you saying that is just wrong, how could you possibly know that?"

"This Sesshomaru's senses are canine and as a Daiyoukai, my senses are stronger than most inuyoukai. From being able to smell when a woman is in heat, to when she has been pupped only days after a rut…"

"I don't need to hear this," Azya felt her face burn even more.

"I can smell your cycles come, but as they pass, you still have not bled. You have not gone into heat once and this Sesshomaru knows that humans go into heat monthly…"

"Will you stop talking about all this?" Azya muttered. "It is quite embarrassing and I know why I have not bled, but I do not need to hear the lecture of a female's cycles from you. I have something, a medical technology to put it simply, within my body that stops the bleeding and makes it impossible for me to be 'pupped' as you would put it. It's called birth control, so I do not need to see a doctor."

"Interesting."

"You're insufferable," Azya sighed as she moved so she was on the pelts she slept on. "Will we reach the one you seek tomorrow? I can sense quite a few youkai energies within these woods."

"Hn."

"Then I am going to get some sleep. Knowing you, we'll be up before the sun," she sighed and felt his amusement from his energy.


	12. Chapter 12

"Your late father's friend certainly lives deep in the forest," Jaken squawked, finally stopping his little game of words as he followed with Ah-Un's reigns in hand.

Azya sat behind Rin on Ah-Un sideways so her legs were on one side and yawned. Sesshomaru had woken her up before dawn for another training session so her body was screaming at her from the few impacts she had not been able to dodge. Rin was making something from flowers she had picked and she hummed contently as she worked.

"Welcome. I have awaited your arrival," a voice boomed and Azya almost fell off Ah-Un backwards in her surprise.

"A voice from the sky!" Rin exclaimed, leaving her flowers on Ah-Un as she stood on his back.

"Uh… I don't see anyone," Jaken spoke, and Azya could hear his confusion.

"I have been expecting you, Sesshomaru," the voice boomed again.

"So, you say that you knew I was coming, did you, old Bokuseno?" Sesshomaru spoke, unfazed by the random voice, but as Azya focused, she sensed a large youkai energy ahead of them.

"You've come to speak with me about the swords, I presume," Bokuseno spoke as if it was the simplest thing in the world as Sesshomaru stopped walking in front of a large tree she could sense. "Do you seek information regarding the Tessaiga, your father's heirloom sword? Or perhaps…"

"A tree demon!" Rin gasped.

"It's not nice to interrupt someone talking, Rin," Azya hushed.

"Oh, Lord Sesshomaru, what's that?" Jaken asked shakily.

"A 2000-year-old magnolia tree," Sesshomaru responded calmly.

"I see."

"It is true. The sheaths of the swords, the Tessaiga and the Tenseiga, passed down from Sesshomaru's father, were carved from my very own boughs," Bokuseno spoke.

"They were?" Jaken asked amazed.

"Bokuseno, perhaps you can explain the link to me between Inuyasha and the Tessaiga," Sesshomaru inquired.

"Inuyasha… your younger brother?" the tree asked.

"Inuyasha's blood has changed. The first time was when a demon bit and broke the Tessaiga. The second time, he had let go of Tessaiga while fighting me. His scent wasn't that of a hanyou. It was the smell of a pure youkai's blood, like mine and my father's."

"His had the same scent?" the tree laughed. "I have my doubts."

"What do you mean by that?" Sesshomaru growled.

"Inuyasha is a hanyou, born between a demon and a human. He could never become a full-fledged youkai. Sesshomaru, there is something that you, a pure-blooded youkai, are capable of accomplishing, but which Inuyasha could never do."

"Go on."

"It is simple. I speak of protecting oneself."

"Protecting oneself?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Yes. In battle, for instance. If you find yourself in a hopeless situation, you are able to remain calm. You never lose control of yourself."

"Huh. It wouldn't be possible for me to fall into such a desperate situation."

"No, I don't suppose you would," Bokuseno chuckled and Azya felt the vibrations shake her. "Inuyasha is another matter, however. If backed into a corner to the point where his life is in danger, his demon blood takes control of the body, and it transforms in order to preserve his life. Unfortunately for Inuyasha, the pure youkai blood of his father is too strong for a hanyou such as himself."

"What will the outcome be?"

"Well, in essence, the youkai blood will devour his human soul. He will not be able to recognize himself. He will not be able to differentiate between friend or foe. He will simply kill, and with repeated transformations, Inuyasha will eventually lose his soul. He will become a demon who only knows how to fight and kill, and he will continue to fight until he is destroyed. I sincerely doubt that your father would have wished such a terrible fate upon his own son. That is why he bequeathed Inuyasha the sword Tessaiga to protect this soul."

"Hn." Azya felt Sesshomaru turn and headed back towards her and she felt that he was done here.

"Girl, trapped by two worlds, come closer," the tree boomed and Azya frowned. She slid off Ah-Un and felt Sesshomaru's hand stop her from walking closer. "Are you not curious, Sesshomaru, to the mark of your father on her body?"

"And what would you know of it?" Sesshomaru spoke.

"It puts her under your protection, but you would not be able to truly harm her. Your father watches from the afterlife. He must have known you would killed her if he had not marked her and sealed it with blood from you. This is why your poisonous blood does not harm her, but heals her instead. You feel the blood's effects within you, can you not?"

"When it is within my blood, yes, but it fades now that my injuries are healed," Azya spoke as she felt Sesshomaru disappear from beside her.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken squawked and she felt him walk off, with Ah-Un and Rin in tow.

"It seems to me, child, that not all your injuries have healed," Bokuseno spoke as she turned to follow the kappa.

"What do you mean?" Azya frowned as she turned towards the youkai tree.

"If all your injuries had healed, then you would not have to rely on your other senses so heavily."

"Toga told me that he could not return my sight…"

"But Inu No Taishō is not the one who has been healing you, he has no form and was only able to bring you here. Your injuries have been healing by Sesshomaru's blood alone. It was his blood that saved you from those fatal injuries and it is his blood that continues to heal you now."

"What do you mean…?" Azya asked quietly as she walked closer to the tree.

"Your sight will one day return to you, depending on if Sesshomaru is willing to give you more."

"Wha…?"

"Azya, you're getting left behind!" Rin called out.

"Coming!" Azya called, feeling only honesty in the tree's life force before spinning around and running after the departing group without another word.

"Huh? Hmm? Hold up!" she heard Jaken squawk.

"Oh, I don't really like long stories. Let's go, Ah-Un. We'll find some nice juicy grass," Rin spoke and Azya chuckled as she caught up to them. "Azya, where'd you go?"

"That weird old tree started to talk to me," Azya spoke as she sat against a tree.

"How is your side?" Rin asked as she came closer.

"It finished healing just the other day. You do not need to worry, dearest Rin."

"Okay!" Rin giggled as she wandered off to find the grass she promised Ah-Un.

Azya sighed as she thought over what the tree had told her. She felt some hope for the faint tingling in her eyes after he said that Sesshomaru's blood was healing all her injures, but felt like she couldn't mention anything to him for sounding so selfish to ask for more blood to heal her eyes, that was if the tree even was right. Sighing again, Azya relaxed in hopes of being able to fall asleep.

* * *

"Oh, Lord Sesshomaru, you're finally back," Rin's voice woke Azya and she sat up as she felt Sesshomaru's hum of energy nearby.

"Rin, I hope you have faired well," Sesshomaru spoke and Azya smiled at how he sounded.

"Ah-Un and I were on our very best behavior," Rin spoke happily. "Jaken has become most melancholy, though."

"Oh, Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken cheered giddily. "What gives, my lord? Why did you go alone after Inuyasha?"

"Seriously? You are his servant, you honestly shouldn't be talking to him so rudely," Azya muttered as she remained sitting against her tree.

"Master, that was most uncalled for," Jaken spoke apologetically. "I hope you can forgive me. Lord Sesshomaru?"

"Is something troubling you, Sessh?" Azya spoke quietly, knowing that he would hear here.

"Jaken, fetch some wood."

"Right away, my lord!" Jaken spoke before scampering off and Azya felt Sesshomaru sit nearby against another tree.

"It was as Bokuseno said, wasn't it?" Azya whispered and he hummed in response. "Is that tree always right when he says something?"

"He has never been wrong before. What has he told you?"

"Something I have a hard time wrapping my head around," she sighed, knowing that with his heightened senses, he would probably sniff out a lie. Bokuseno is an old youkai, he could be senile…"

"This Sesshomaru has never found the tree to be senile. There is truth in whatever he told you."

"I hope so," Azya sighed before getting to her feet and walked over to where Ah-Un lay and she felt through the bags and pulled out the pelt bedding.

"Azya, Rin found some fish in a stream nearby," Rin spoke happily as Jaken returned as well with the wood he was told to grab.

"Very good, dearest Rin," Azya smiled. "Go ahead and cook them up before we settle down for the night."


	13. Chapter 13

I don't own anything from Inuyasha

Please enjoy and review!

* * *

"Woman, wake up," Sesshomaru's voice roused her from the warmth of her furs and she whined at the interruption of sleep.

"Don't want to," Azya groaned but then felt herself suddenly in the air and there was a pulling at the center of her clothes. She grabbed at the pulling and felt Sesshomaru's hand gripping her haori. "Really, Sessh? Why do you have to wake me up when I can still feel the night's chill?"

"Training."

"Insufferable," Azya muttered as he set her on her feet. "I am still bruised from the last training."

"That does not stop training, woman," Sesshomaru spoke before walking off and she followed with a sigh.

In a nearby clearing, Azya took a breath to center herself and focused on Sesshomaru's energy. He moved behind her and she felt him press something against her hands. She opened her palms and felt a long circular wood. Sesshomaru walked around so he was in front of her and she felt him move her hands to position them right.

"Did you just give me a stick with bells?" Azya asked amused.

"A bo staff. The metal rings are to help you adjust to its length. There are three on each end."

"I see… well guess I can't use that statement," Azya chuckled as tapped one of the ends against the ground to hear the ring's sound. "Do you think I am ready for this? After all I couldn't dodge all your attacks."

"You do well enough for the next step," he spoke as he stepped behind her again.

"Okay, seriously Sessh, is there anything you can't do?" Azya asked and heard him snort as he brought his one arm around her and wrapped his hand over her right hand on the staff. She felt something soft cover her left hand and frowned. "Your pelt moves as well, really?"

"Focus Azya," he growled quietly and she felt the rumble of his chest against her back. "Today is to focus on movement."

Sesshomaru made her move with the staff, his legs forcing hers to move to mimic his movements. It felt like a dance that he was leading her into and she could feel his heartbeat strongly against her back. Back and forth, moving the staff into different positions with each step and as it rang with each movement, she could hear and feel exactly how far in front of her the staff was. Sesshomaru had figured out how well she works with sounds and vibrations and incorporated it into helping her learn how to defend herself.

The training went well until she could feel the morning sun dance across her skin through the trees above. Eventually, Sesshomaru stopped their movements and she felt his pelt and hand fall away from her staff and she took a breath to slow her fast breathing and heartrate. She felt Sesshomaru move behind her and started walking back towards the camp where she felt Rin and Jaken moving around.

"Where'd you go Azya?" Rin asked as she felt her run over to her.

"Just my training with Sesshomaru," Azya smiled as she patted the girl's head. "What are your plans now Sesshomaru now that you have learned the truth behind the Tessaiga?"

"It is time to return to the Western Castle for now."

"Has it already been two cycles?" Jaken asked, surprise in his voice. "The time sure does fly by fast."

"Come," Sesshomaru spoke as he grabbed Azya's arm and she felt something soft underneath of her. She grabbed his armor that he had put on at some point after they had returned to the camp and felt the ground far below.

"Wait for me, Sesshomaru!" Rin called.

"W…wait for me, my lord!" Jaken squawked.

"Oh that silly kappa," Azya chuckled as Sesshomaru let go of her arm and placed his hand on her lower back. "Why is it that you are so touchy the past few days? Ever since those women at the hot spring, you touch me or hold me close to your person."

"That mark is one of royalty. There are some who will mistake the meaning of the mark and try to attack you. You will need new clothing when we arrive, your mark cannot be hidden."

"You mean some royal kimono?" Azya grimaced. "Drop me off somewhere while you do your business."

"No."

"I hate you."

"You have said that before, woman. It makes no difference to this Sesshomaru as long as that mark remains on your body."

Azya sighed, resigning herself to her fate of being paraded in royal kimonos. She leaned against Sesshomaru's side, still gripping the bo staff in her right hand. She could sense Jaken and Rin on Ah-Un somewhere behind her as they flew. She felt a barrier ahead of her, stronger and larger than the protective barriers that Sesshomaru used as they traveled, but she could sense his energy behind the large barrier.

"Such a strong barrier…" Azya whispered as she felt them fly through it. "Why are your usual protective barriers not this strong?"

"There are complex enchantments with this barrier, unless given permission, one would not be able to pass through the barrier," Sesshomaru spoke as they flew closer to the ground.

"Lord Sesshomaru, welcome back!" Azya heard both male and female youkai greet Sesshomaru as they reached the ground.

"You brought a marked human, my lord?" an elderly female voice asked as she felt Ah-Un land behind them. "And a human child? That must be quite a story."

"Priscilla, take the marked one and the child to be dressed properly," Sesshomaru spoke, a harshness to his tone and Azya frowned as Rin's small hand slid into her own. "Jaken, you know your duties."

"Y…yes, my lord," Jaken stuttered. "Come along Ah-Un."

"Azya…?" Rin spoke, her voice quiet.

"Not now, dearest Rin," Azya whispered back gently. "Things have changed, there are rules now. Best be quiet for now."

"Okay," Rin spoke quietly before tightening her grip slightly as she walked ahead of her.

Azya used the staff Sesshomaru had given her that morning to be able to feel the terrain since she was having a hard time sensing anything other than the hundreds of youkai energies and their vibrations messed with her senses. While making the rings sound as she walked, she could sense a small distance ahead of her to be able to know if there were stairs or not as they walked so that Rin didn't have to completely drag her around. They followed the female youkai, Priscilla, up several large grand staircases before heading down a hallway on the third level.

"Priscilla, what has that dog brought this time?" a man spoke, his voice deep and she could sense distaste in his energy levels.

"A marked one and her guide from the looks of it, Dante. As usual, he didn't say much when he arrived," Priscilla spoke, annoyed.

"A marked one… We have not had a marked one here since the lady mother. Bring her inside, child," Dante sighed and Azya felt Rin pull her forward. "Right there is fine. Child, take the staff and sit on the pillows for now. So marked one, how did you come to bear the mark of the west?"

"I woke up one day and it was there," Azya muttered vaguely as she handed her staff to Rin and heard her move to the edge of the quiet room and she felt her clothes being removed. "You can ask you know, I'm not completely invalid."

"While in the home of a lord and bearing their mark, you better get used to people doing things for you. It is not meant to be an insult to your sight, it is a servant's duty to their lord and lady," Dante snapped.

"You don't like humans, do you?" Azya smiled as she let him strip her down to her undergarments.

"No. Your race is weak and short-lived and so susceptible to illness. Strange garments…"

"They are comfortable to me so please do not make me remove them."

"Would you like me to create such garments for you?"

"Can you do that?"

"A simple feat with exact measurements for the best clothing designer the West has to offer. Although, your clothing looks like Soro's work," Dante spoke as she felt him start measuring her body. "I'm curious how our lord was able to mark you so perfectly there with no sign of his fangs, but he did it somehow considering I can smell his blood in you."

"Do you really have to talk so much?" Azya sighed, feeling her head starting to hurt.

"No, I guess not," Dante chuckled. "I'll get your first kimono made so I can dress your little guide before you return to our lord. Then I'll get a wardrobe made and sent to the rooms that you have been assigned to in the west wing."


	14. Chapter 14

Azya sat at a low table in the rooms that had been assigned to her and Rin, her boots sitting beside her and she held four small plastic cards that had been a zippered pocket in the lining of the boots. She knew what they were, three of them bank cards from feeling the raised edges of the numbers, name, and expiration date while the fourth was completely smooth being her driver's license. She did always hate carrying a bag when on her motorcycle. Rin was still with Dante getting herself dressed properly so it gave Azya a moment to herself but now the words of Bokuseno and Kagome were rushing through her mind.

One day she would see again whether she wanted it or not. Having been adjusting with no sight had been testing, but she felt that if her sight returned, her ability to sense life forces and energies would fade. She would have to adjust again to being able to defend herself, but with no sight, she was already further in her training than if she got her sight back.

It would be amazing to be able to see the little girl that she was starting to care deeply for and the youkai who cared for her. To be able to see this foreign past and the youkai who could and couldn't take human form, but she also dreaded the day that her sight would return. She felt that everything would change the day she opened her eyes and see this world for what it was, the beauty and the evil of it.

She slid the cards back into the zippered pocket before grabbing the boots as she stood and walked over to the bags that sat against a wall and slid them back into the bag. In these rooms, she could barely feel the youkai all around her and also felt one of Sesshomaru's protective barriers around her rooms and was glad she didn't have to hold the ringed no staff in here since she could easily sense were things were around her. She walked over to the balcony and leaned against the railing as she took a deep breath.

She wanted to give Sesshomaru a hard time for him complaining about her leather pants considering what she had been dressed in. The kimono she wore right now didn't even reach the middle of her thighs and was only two layers. The sleeves fell just past her hands as the collar of the kimono sat off her shoulders, exposing her upper back and almost her breasts but Dante had tweaked the fabric so it went along the edge of her bra, giving an uninterrupted view of the mark on her sternum.

The only thing that kept the clothing from falling was the halter style support that she had suggested so both the inner kimono and the outer came up around her neck so she had adjusted her bra straps so it crossed in back. A thick obi wrapped around her waist from her hips to the edge of her bra several times before tying into a large bow at the small of her back. Rin had told her that the inner kimono was a silver that reminded her of the color of a blade while the outer was a dark blue with Sakura flowers stamped around the collar and the edges of the sleeves.

The silk slippers she had been given were discarded somewhere by the low table, feeling foreign on her feet after being barefoot for almost two months. She could feel Sesshomaru's energy full of anger while multiple energies surrounding his. Making up her mind, she grabbed her staff and left the room while focusing on Sesshomaru's energy which she almost felt as if he was calling out to her.

Azya ignored all the whispers around her as she worked her way through the corridors and up several flights of stairs. She was grateful that no one was getting in her way, having a suspicion that the mark on her chest was a big reason why. She finally reached a set of doors from the feel of the wood and pushed one open, feeling over a dozen harsh youkai energies much stronger than before but focused on her companion's from the far side of the large room that smelt like old paper and ink.

"A human?!" Several youkai snarled and Azya ignored them as she entered the room.

"What is the meaning of this Sesshomaru?! A marked human?" another snarled as she felt the youkai part as she passed until she was right in front of Sesshomaru and felt the anger in his energy fade some.

"Woman," Sesshomaru growled and she couldn't help but smile.

"I felt your inner youkai call out to me," she shrugged, crossing her arms under her breasts, her staff against the crook of her shoulder.

"How can a human feel a youkai?"

"Well considering the fact that this human cannot survive any other way except to feel and hear the world around me," Azya spoke harshly as she opened her useless eyes as she turned her head so that the room could see the truth of her blindness. "None of your energies even compare to that of my lord's."

"Explain this, Sesshomaru!" Another snapped and Azya grinned as she felt the anger in their energies at her insult.

"You are dismissed," Sesshomaru ordered as she felt him pull her behind him and she gripped his empty sleeve and felt his pelt curl around her.

"You abandon your responsibilities for some pathetic human?"

"Watch yourself while you remain welcome on the Western Lands," Sesshomaru growled and Azya flinched into his back at the harshness in his voice. "This human has more worth than you Goro. You insult her again and it will be your head. "

"Y… yes my lord," the youkai, Goro stammered before she felt all the youkai leave without wasting another second.

"Woman, where is Rin?" Sesshomaru spoke after a minute as he turned towards her.

"As far as I know, she was still with the clothes designer. Some female youkai brought me to the rooms you provided for the two of us," Azya spoke as she felt a wooden desk beside her and sat on its edge, crossing her right leg over her left as she pulled her braid over her shoulder. "I was surprised at this style the designer made. You once told me that it was not appropriate to have so much of my body revealed."

"This Sesshomaru will have a word with him about that. How were you able to make your way here? I noticed the difficulty for you when we arrived."

"The rings on the Bo staff help but there are a lot of youkai that it overwhelmed my senses. It's still hard to focus easily, but I focused on your energy and it felt as if your energy was leading me. I know you would brush it off as silly human nature but when I felt your anger, I got worried," Azya chuckled quietly as she felt him move so he was sitting in the seat beside her.

"You could feel this Sesshomaru's anger against those youkai?"

"There's been a harshness to your energy since we arrived, in your voice and your actions. I can understand stand the necessity around your subjects, but Rin doesn't quite understand and I haven't been able to talk with her yet. Priscilla thought that she was merely my guide. I've always been able to tell if you were calm or if you were angry. I was always more empathic towards people back home, so now those emotions are easier to feel. So as much as you say you do not have the same emotions as a human would, they are there within you," Azya spoke quietly. "Even that day we witnessed the half-breed's transformation, for what seconds you felt it, I felt your fear."

"Woman."

"I'm just telling you what I have learned. They are there, no matter how much you may deny it."

"My lord?" Azya heard a knocking before a door opened as she recognized the voice and energy of Priscilla. "I see the marked one has found her way here. I have brought the child now that she is dressed. The evening meal will be ready by sundown."

"Hn."

"Azya!" she heard Rin say excitedly as she ran towards her as Priscilla left. "Rin got worried when you were not in the rooms they said you would be."

"I got bored of just sitting around," Azya smiled as she felt Rin beside her and placed her hand on the child's head. "I know that it is a different culture and way to act within a Lord's home, but as humans, what do we have to worry about?"

"There will be many females who will try to challenge you due to the mark you bear, but they will not do so with you Rin. The young are not to be harmed, no matter whose pup they are."

"Why would they challenge me? What does this mark actually mean?" Azya asked as she felt Rin wander off to explore the large room.

"It is just a protection mark, but females will mistake it for a mark of mating."

"Okay…" Azya frowned. "Isn't a mating infinite? I don't know much of anything about youkai, but canine behaviors usually have only one alpha whether there are one or more females in the pack…"

"If one were to have a mate and concubines, only the mate would bear the mating mark as she would be the alpha over the concubines. Females will challenge the alpha female for their right as alpha."

"But if the alpha female is marked, then doesn't that mean that a lesser female actually doesn't have the right because the lesser was not the one marked?"

"Most females are conceited and jealous of anyone if it is not them."

"Wait so a lot of these youkai think that you and I are mated?" Azya frowned as she finally understood why he was telling her that she could possibly be challenged. "So that's why that designer was so odd…"

"Explain," Sesshomaru demanded as she felt some curiosity and irritation from his energy.

"He said he was curious as to how you were able to place the mark so perfectly with no signs of your fangs… He seemed pretty irritable in the beginning but when he made me undress and saw the mark, he became oddly accommodating to my needs even though he was still rude. I actually liked Soro's personality over his," Azya muttered as she crossed her arms, letting her staff rest against her legs. "Or maybe it was because you had been there keeping him in check. I am mentally tired from navigating your castle, it is way too big and too many people. I cannot believe I'd say this but I prefer the woods."

"Hn."

"Your form of amusement is sorely lacking," Azya snorted as she slid off the desk and felt his pelt shift and move against her bare legs. "May I ask a favor? Besides to stop petting me with your pelt."

"You can ask," he spoke calmly as his pelt wrapped around both of her legs, forcing her to not be able to move.

"May we have train tonight before I go to sleep? There are so many energies around me that it's hard to relax and if I am physically tired, I may be able to sleep better."

"That is acceptable, woman."

"Last question because I know you are probably tiring of me talking, why do you call Rin by her name but you very rarely call me by my name, usually calling me woman?"

"Would you prefer I call her child?" he asked sarcastically.

"You are insufferable as usual," Azya sighed as she used the staff to pull his pelt away from her and walked over to where she felt Rin. Rin grabbed her hand and helped her down where she found herself laying against several large feather pillows. "What has caught your attention, dearest Rin?"

"That woman who brought me here, gave me some spare scrolls, a quill and some ink so I can draw," Rin hummed contently.

"That was kind of the youkai," Azya smiled as she curled around behind rin as she drew.

"Why do you look sad Azya? Do you miss your family?" Rin asked and she heard her stop drawing with the ink.

"There is nothing to miss about my family, dear Rin. They gave up on me years ago and only found me when it was important for them."

"But a child should always be important to their family…"

"Mine didn't seem to be able to figure that one out. I was actually thinking that in my world, there was these drawing utensils made of colored wax that would allow one to use dozens of color without it having to be paint. A mess-free fun for any who loved to draw. You would have loved them and be able to draw such pretty things."

"I wish your eyes would get better," Rin muttered as she started to draw again.

"They may never get better, dearest Rin. I have accepted that and that is okay. I may not be able to see your beautiful face and the drawings you create, but your stories and songs are enough. As long as you continue to be happy for me, dearest Rin, that is all I need," Azya smiled as she hugged the child, making her giggle.


	15. Chapter 15

Sesshomaru glanced at the two humans that invaded his study for the second day as the sun started to set. Rin was on her knees at the low table, drawing while the woman was curled up against the throw pillows, wearing a pale plum colored kimono and a black inner kimono that covered her bare feet when she stood, refusing to wear the silk slippers made for her. Azya was talking to Rin, using her hands to make symbols as she taught her to write the best she could and Rin would come over to him to make sure her writing was correct before returning to Azya.

He noticed a bruise on her calf from their training session the night before and frowned at the darkness of the color. He was impressed that she never complained about the bruises or the strain he forced her body, except when he literally would drag her out from under her covers. Her progress was improving with every session and had adjusted well to the bo staff that laid beside her and Rin, she just didn't have quite the stamina and speed that he had when he trained her.

As he watched the two humans interact, Azya never not smiling at the child as she helped her the best she could, he noticed a slight bruising around her eyes as if she was not getting enough sleep. He frowned at that, having to carry her the night before when she collapsed in the dojo from exhaustion. Curious as to what she had told him about her being able to sense his energy, he flared his energy a little and saw Azya stop talking and frown, turning her head his way some. Rin noticed this and grabbed the staff and gave it to Azya as she stood and came over to him and leaned against the desk beside him.

"You did not sleep well," he commented as he focused on the opens scrolls laid out on his desk.

"No, but one night of not being able to stay asleep won't affect anything," she spoke quietly and he saw her shrug out the corner of his eye.

"This Sesshomaru carried you after you collapsed, why did you not sleep?"

"I don't know," she shrugged again, "Since I've been here, I've been used to the sounds of a fire and those furs you had given me. To suddenly sleep on a soft bed, not near anything that I have adjusted to, I kept waking up. Rin was sound asleep all night though, her energy is never ending."

"This Sesshomaru can have someone come in to tutor Rin while we are here."

"Oh, I'm sorry if she keeps disturbing you while you work."

"It is no problem, woman. There are only so many that you can shape out before they start to be similar to others that Rin has learned."

"That's true. I guess that is okay, but how much longer are we here?"

"A fortnight every other lunar cycle. There is much work to be done that my servants are incompetent to finish."

"You know, if you weren't such a rebellious youkai, there wouldn't be so much work for you to finish each time you return. Why not have your soldiers patrol your lands?"

"There is a threat out there that keeps escaping this Sesshomaru and I will not put soldiers out to face a threat I must see eliminated personally."

"That makes sense. I feel like I ask for a lot from you, but is there any chance I can take Ah-Un and find that girl that travels with the half-breed?"

"You wish to leave?"

"No, I do not wish to leave this pack for you have cared for me in so many more ways than I could have ever expected. I only wish to know more about this girl and if she is able to travel back and forth. If I am able to as well, I would like to get Rin some things for when we return to traveling so she can still be entertained and if for some reason my personal funds have not returned to my family, I still have the things to access them. I only ask for a couple days, then I will return to here to my pack," Azya spoke as she turned towards him, her hip propped against the desk and her hands held onto the staff near her chin.

"That is acceptable, but you will not travel during the night. After you have had adequate sleep, you may leave in the morning before Rin wakes," Sesshomaru spoke, frowning as to why he would accept this woman to leave his side.

"Very well," she smiled. "May I ask where those pelts you gave me are at? I think I may be able to sleep better with them after being used to them for so long."

"This Sesshomaru will have them delivered to your rooms." She touched his shoulder without another word as she smiled and after talking to Rin for a moment, left the study to return to the rooms.

* * *

Azya felt a hand shake her and as she woke up, she felt Sesshomaru's energy from right beside her. She crawled out of the pelts that Rin was still hidden within and followed him into the main room. She grabbed a bag that she had carefully packed so that Rin would not notice it fuller than before having a set of clothing and her boots and slung it over her bag, leaving the bo staff against the wall and opted to grab Sesshomaru's empty sleeve as he led her out of the rooms.

The activity of the castle was very quiet and Azya was pretty sure that the sun probably hadn't come up yet considering how strong the night's chill was as it rolled across her skin as they stepped outside the castle. She felt Ah-Un nearby and let go of Sesshomaru's sleeve and stepped over to the dragon and nuzzled both heads. She climbed up onto their back and felt something draped over her shoulders.

"The early morning is still cool that a human could become ill," Sesshomaru spoke and she felt the heavier fabric and it reminded her of wool as she pulled up the hood she felt. "Three days, woman. If you do not return by then, I will hunt you down."

"Then I guess I should get going so you do not have to worry so much about a weak human," she smiled before kicking Ah-Un's sides and the two-headed dragon jumped up into the air. "Alright Ah-Un, will you please hunt down that half-breed? I have questions to be answered."

The dragon roared in response and she felt him change his direction before increasing his speed. Azya hunched down over his back so that the wind would not hit her as harshly considering she wore one of the kimonos that Sesshomaru had ordered made, but glad that she had put on her leather pants the night before. It wasn't long before she felt the sun's warmth across her and she realized they were heading east towards the rising sun and she could feel the half-breed's energy getting closer.

"Sesshomaru!" she heard the half-breed yell and she chuckled as they got closer to the ground. "A girl…? Where is that bastard?"

"He is not with me, half-breed. I seek your companion, Kagome," Azya spoke as she felt hundreds of humans around the area and smelt the rice fields.

"And why would I let someone who smells of that bastard even near here?" Inuyasha snapped as she heard him draw his sword.

"I sense that your sword is lighter now, half-breed. Are you going to abandon it and transform on me?" Azya snapped. "Not that you would be smart enough to know and if you are, bravo. I am from Kagome's time, saved, and brought here by the power of the one who made it possible for that fang to have been created in the first place. So please, where is the girl or I will let my companion here start doing some damage?"

"Keh…"

"Inuyasha, sit boy!" she heard Kagome call and heard a crash and a groan from Inuyasha. "Azya…?"

"I'm glad that I do not have to hunt you down. I only have a few days before my companion comes to find me and I have questions for you," Azya smiled as she slid of Ah-Un and grabbed his reigns.

"You wish to return home?" Kagome asked, surprise in her pure energy.

"Only if it is possible to return here afterwards. I wish to see if my funds are still accessible to me and to be able to purchase a few things. Is your portal a two-way gate?"

"Yes."

"Good, now the more important question. Kagome, may I borrow your aide to return there. I do not know if I will be able to navigate the future alone, let alone know where I need to go."

"I was returning to pack back up on medical supplies any way," Kagome spoke as Azya followed her down a worn down path towards what she sensed as a small house structure where an unfamiliar pure aura waited.

"Kagome!" Azya recognized the child youkai as his energy came bounding down the street. "Who are you and why do you smell like Inuyasha's brother?"

"Curious little youkai," Azya grinned. "I am his traveling companion."

"And why are you here?"

"Shippo, be nice. She is from my home and asked for my help to see if she can pass through the well," Kagome scolded the boy.

"Well?" Azya frowned.

"The Bone Eaters Well is what connects this time to our time. My family owns the Higurashi shrine where the well sits in the future," Kagome explained.

"Child, I ask a favor of you, since you seem more likeable than that half-breed, but would you care for Ah-Un while I go with Kagome?"

"I guess…" she heard Shippo say, uncertain as she felt the child grab the reigns from here.

"If the half-breed gives you trouble, Ah-Un, you can zap him a little," Azya smiled as the two heads nuzzled her.

"Shall we go?" Kagome asked and Azya nodded and felt the purity of her hand slid into her own and gently pulled her with her. "The well is not too far from the village… Do you have any shoes?"

"Yes, but shoes make it harder to walk, but I do have them. I will put them on if I pass through, considering the hazards of the roads and sidewalks."

"You mentioned then that your family disowned you years ago… According to my mom, they visit the shrine almost daily. They seem like nice people…"

"They did not want what was best for me, only best for them. They demanded that I become a partner to their companies and take over one day, should they die or retire, but became even more irate when I refused them every step of the way. I ended up having to run away because they wouldn't stop then only days later, I get a call from their lawyer to sign some papers. They disowned me because I would not comply and paid to have me not take them to court over the disownment. If they mourn, then it is an act for the media of them mourning over their long lost daughter," Azya snorted.

"Oh… We're here," Kagome spoke and she sensed an old wood with an energy coursing through it.

"There is definitely a power in the wood," Azya spoke as she stepped forward and touched the flat of the well.

"You can feel it?"

"I woke up in this world, my sight already lost. My companion has been teaching me how to be able to detect the life forces and energies in each being and plant-life as well as to be able to function if he is not nearby. I wear no shoes because when I am in contact with the earth, I can feel vibrations of movements just like the half-breed who lingers in the trees."

"Keh, you are not trustworthy to be left alone with Kagome," Inuyasha scoffed as she felt him come closer.

"And what can I possibly do to her? Throw a punch and hope I hit her?" Azya chuckled. "Besides she has a pure energy coursing through her, I'm sure she knows how to use that energy to stop me."

"Inuyasha, I'll be back in three days," Kagome spoke. "We just jump into the well, Azya."

"That's easy enough," Azya spoke as she sat on the lip of the well and dangled both legs into the emptiness. "I hope this works, otherwise it will just hurt. That's a 20 foot drop."

"Let's go," Kagome spoke as she pulled on her arm, pulling her into the well.


	16. Chapter 16

As soon as she felt the ground below her, she knew she had gotten through. The sounds of the city around them, roared loudly into her ears and she felt her nose scrunch up in disgust at the smells. Kagome guided her hands to a ladder and she climbed up quickly and jumped out of the well. She felt nonstop vibrations in the ground from all the cars and sighed before pulling out her boots and slid them on. She would have to rely heavily on Kagome while they both were here.

Kagome led her out of the well house and she assumed over to her house so that she could be properly dressed for the era, considering that was what Kagome was mumbling about as she pulled her with her. She tried to draw in her senses to focus on what was directly around her and was able to sense the structure of the house and the three human energies inside. She kicked her shoes off once the door closed behind her and Kagome let her go as she disappeared.

"Oh, hello, can I help you dear?" a woman spoke from somewhere to her left.

"I apologize for barging in, ma'am. I am a friend of Kagome's," Azya spoke, opening her blind eyes as she bowed, "but she disappeared without a word."

"My word, that girl can be such an airhead some days," the woman smiled and Azya smiled as well as she pulled off the hood of her cloak. "Have we met somewhere before?"

"Kagome mentioned that my picture was put up on a prayer alter," Azya shrugged, "but I doubt anyone here knew I survived my accident down the street. Kagome actually found me on her travels and helped me return to be able to gather some things."

"You're Azya Kazuki?" the woman gasped and she felt herself pulled into a set of warm arms. "She told me that she swore she saw you through the well, but I just could not believe it. What happened to you dear? All the news said you died before lightning struck your body, completely disintegrating it. Your parents asked to have your picture on the prayer alter because there was nothing left to bury…"

"Don't let the look of mourning deceive you ma'am, they are not who they act to be," Azya spoke simply as she pushed herself away from the woman. "Although, is there any chance you could call them for me? I have questions and the only way to figure that out is if I speak directly to them. Just ask them to come here, for tea or something."

"Of course," the woman spoke, unfazed and she gave her the number to call before carefully working her way up to where she could sense Kagome.

"Oh, I completely forgot… I'm sorry Azya…" Kagome's hand found hers and pulled her into a room and onto a bed.

"It's fine. Your mother is calling Anita and Antonio so I can get answers about my accounts. Since the papers for my disownment are sealed in several vaults to prove their worth, the Kazuki's technically couldn't claim anything I owned. There is a chance, my accounts have not been touched yet."

"But it's been three months since your supposed death…"

"Yeah… we'll see if Antonio and Anita show up. If they don't, we'll go to their office or house, depending on what time it is."

"Do you hate them?" Kagome asked and Azya snorted.

"It was my choice to run away. I never fought the legalities of being disowned because I thought it was a blessing that they had finally given up on demanding that I became a partner. I only resent them because they didn't even try to be parents. The day of my accident, it was stormy and I had passed them on the road so they called me up to scold me. I went back to confront them because they had no right to call me family or to contact me before driving back off on my motorcycle. I was angry at them that day, yeah, and that may have been the deciding factor of why I lost control when trying to avoid another car that lost control, but secretly I'm glad that the argument we had that day happened. I would not have found my pack and to not have so many expectations sit on my shoulders. I could just be me and I was free," Azya smiled as she let herself fall backwards onto the bed.

"But your sight… That imp is ugly and you don't even know what Sesshomaru looks like…"

"Do we really judge people by their appearance or if they cannot hold a human form? Jaken is loud and annoying, i'll give you that, but because of that it is easy to step on him when he starts yapping and Sesshomaru... Sesshomaru may be cold and ruthless but since I bear this mark on my body, he cannot harm me and has cared for all my needs," Azya laughed as she felt the mark on her sternum. "Do you have a shirt I can wear while I am here? Sesshomaru did not really appreciate my leather pants and got me new clothing, but it would be nice to wear something a little more familiar."

"Sure," Kagome spoke and Azya felt her stand up and a door slid open. "Here. It's just a basic white tee."

"That is fine, thank you. I will return it before I go back through the well," Azya spoke as she quickly stripped out of the kimono and pulled the cotton fabric over her head.

"Azya, they are here," she heard Kagome's mom as she felt her energy just outside the room.

"That was fast."

"They had already been headed over to pray, but they are confused as to how I got a hold of their private number…"

"Thank you Mrs. Higurashi, your help is much appreciated. Now let's see hell break loose," Azya grinned before walking past her and carefully down the stairs, relishing in the feel of the carpet under her feet that had calloused up from walking barefoot for so long. "I am glad that you were both able to make it today. You have my amusement in keeping up this mourning farce for so long."

"A…Azya…?!" she heard Anita gasp before there was a thud.

"One down, one to go," Azya chuckled as leaned against the wall, not even bothering to turn towards where she felt their energies.

"If you had been alive all this time, why has it taken so long for you to come forward?!" Antonio snapped.

"I honestly didn't know that you fucking cared," Azya snapped. "It was your fault that accident happened. I was doing just fine for the five years you left me alone after you disowned me. Now let me see if I can guess this right. I haven't exactly been around much, but let me guess what the news posted. ' _Long lost Kazuki heir found to only be lost in accident.'_ Did I get it right that you would cover up disowning me as me just missing?"

"Sounds about right," a young boy spoke, his mouth full of food.

"Souta, shut up," Kagome snapped and Azya heard an impact as if she hit the boy.

"Why don't you look at me when you talk to me like that?" Antonio snapped.

"Oh, like this?" Azya spoke as she turned her body towards him, her blind eyes open. "So you can see the damage you caused when you decided to call me and yell at me that night? I am getting way off topic, ignore my hate. I am glad you did this to me, because when I woke up, I found myself in a place where you and all this does not exist. I have people who care for me and do not demand more from me than I allow. I only have one question for you Antonio, did you try to claim all my accounts after my body disappeared or did you wait a whole fucking day before you tried? Did you succeed and get back the money you paid me to not take you to court when you disowned me?"

"No. The lawyer wouldn't give access to any of it, nor would he close the accounts," Antonio muttered.

"Shame," Azya chuckled. "Too bad that by law, even if one has been claimed dead, accounts cannot be closed for 12 months if there is no will."

"What are you planning?" Antonio asked, anger in his voice.

"To the Kazuki family? Nothing," Azya shrugged. "You leave me alone in peace, and I will not come forward to the public about all the bullshit you fed them. Where I travel, I have no need for your press and image to uphold."

"And where would that be?"

"Hmm, lets think for a second, Antonio. A young girl, lie bleeding on a cold wet road as the harsh coldness of the rain pours from the sky, with a shard of glass in their lung and severe wounds to their entire right side. At the thought of dying in some hospital, while you make up some lie, this girl rips the shard out. As all the paramedics try to stop the bleeding, the girl takes her last breath within this world and lightning strikes, not hurting anyone but removes the body of a supposed dead girl from the world. Where do you think that girl would have gone to, had she still been alive?"

"Somewhere she was guaranteed to live?"

"Exactly, perfect answer," Azya clapped. "That's all you get, now you can drag your pathetic wife out of here while I take care of some errands. Kagome, my dear, shall we get going? I can help you get some things before we start traveling again."

"O…okay…" Kagome spoke, her voice startled as if she had dazed off and Azya smiled as she pulled on her boots and walked out of the house with Kagome close behind and wrapped her hand around the miko's and let her pull her along so that they could get the supplies they needed before returning to the past. "Sorry that I didn't believe you about them."

"It doesn't bother me. I said my piece, the anger, the gratitude, and the chance to shut them up for once. They always told lies to the press when anyone inquired about me after I disappeared from the radar. It would have brought them more shame if word got out that they disowned me after I ran away. I would compare their status to maybe a couple below Sesshomaru since they own so many different companies."

"So how did you survive after you ran away? Did people not question who you were when you told them your name?"

"That is the beauty of it. Antonio and Anita didn't realized that I legally changed my name after they gave me the large sum to not go to court. I went by Azya Vai Zuko instead of Azya Vai Kazuki. That is also one reason they were unsuccessful in closing my accounts."

"They didn't have the correct information," Kagome chuckled.

"Exactly. Now as we are out among the town, I need to get some crayons and a durable sketchbook, maybe some toys to entertain a child. There is a young girl I care for after she cared for me, cleaning my wounds daily as they healed and Sesshomaru let her remain as we traveled."

"I wanted to get some things for Shippo as well, so we will definitely hit that up before we return to the house."

"Thank you Kagome," Azya spoke as they got onto the bus to get to the city. "It means a lot to me how forceful you were that day to say that you recognized me. It was hard not knowing where I was, considering all the different things that were real, it had actually put me into shock to know exactly where I was."

"You're welcome," Kagome smiled. "I usually come back for three days every other week but if there is any time you need to come here and I am not here, Inuyasha can get through and he can bring you over."

"Again thank you. There is too much movement and too many sounds of this city that I would not be able to navigate as well as I can back with Sesshomaru."

"Any time Azya. Now let's enjoy a good girl's day out shopping."

"Yes, it is needed," Azya chuckled.


	17. Chapter 17

Sesshomaru sat in his study as he watched the sun slowly dip over the horizon. It had been three days and Azya still had not returned, nor had Ah-Un. He stood and slid his swords into their place at his waist before going to the balcony and jumped into the air. He headed in the direction of Inuyasha's forest where he could sense the half-breed. Using his light orb, he arrived quickly and frowned at the sight. Ah-Un was in the village with the fox child and Inuyasha sat against a decrepit old well.

"Has the human finally put you in your place, little brother?" Sesshomaru taunted as he landed near the tree line.

"Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha immediately drew his sword as he stood.

"Where is the woman who came to your human for help?" Sesshomaru inquired as he walked closer.

"Keh, hell if I know," Inuyasha scoffed as he sheathed his sword and sat back against the well where he could faintly smell Azya from days ago. "They haven't come back yet."

"So this well is the gate to their world," Sesshomaru mused before jumping over Inuyasha and into the depths.

"You bastard!" Inuyasha yelled and he felt him follow.

As soon they touched the bottom of the well, light appeared all around them and Sesshomaru felt the ground and space around them completely fade for several seconds to this world of colors and lights before the bottom of the well reappeared around them. Sesshomaru jumped out of the well and noticed that there was a structure around them. He felt Inuyasha try to catch him but he opened the door and entered the world that he had only been told about. He followed the scent of his companion to a house nearby and entered it while Inuyasha followed, cursing the whole way.

"Oh my," a woman who looked like Inuyasha's companion came into view from what he assumed was the kitchen. "Hello, Inuyasha, have you come to pick up Kagome?"

"Keh, this bastard was too curious," Inuyasha huffed as he walked past Sesshomaru and sat against a wall.

"You must be the one that has cared for Azya all this time," the woman smiled. "I believe she was in the tub, can I offer you some tea?"

"That would be appreciated," Sesshomaru spoke before hearing a loud thud from up the stairwell.

He turned to the stairwell as he heard Azya cry out in pain and walked up the stairs to investigate. Two doors were closed at the end of the hall, he smelt the half-breed's companion in one as she talked to herself about mathematics while he smelt Azya coming from the other room as well as heard her groaning. He grabbed the door knob and turned it, not receiving any resistance and entered the room and froze. Azya was sitting on the floor beside some kind of basin filled with water that was a milky color, with a white cloth around her and was holding the side of her head. He closed the door behind him and knelt beside his companion and pulled her hand away from where she had been holding her head and saw a large bump.

"What have you done to yourself, woman?" Sesshomaru spoke quietly.

"You… you're here…" she whispered, her voice full of amazement. She touched his arm as she got onto her knees facing him. "How is that possible…?"

"You did not return by the third sunset."

"So you hunted me down," a small smile graced her face as her hands came up to rest on his chest. "You know we were going to leave after Kagome's mom made dinner. I thought that the end of my three days would have been marked by the moon's highest point…"

"You are a part of my pack, woman. This Sesshomaru will always hunt you down as long as it remains that way."

"Then even if this mark were to fade, would you let me remain at your side?" Azya asked quietly as her hands slid across his chest to the edge of his jaw, her thumbs against his cheeks.

"Hn," he responded quietly and watched as her grin grew before her arms came around his neck and held herself against him. He wrapped his arm around her waist as he felt his inner youkai growl contently. He felt her turn her head to the side, exposing her neck to him as she rested her head on his shoulder and buried his face against the exposed flesh. A small gasp escaped her lips and he could feel her heart speed up as her arms tightened around him.

"Azya, are you okay?" there was a knock on the door and Azya jumped in surprise.

"Y…yeah… I just slipped, Kagome. I'll be out in a moment," Azya responded and as she pulled back, he saw her flushed cheeks.

"Okay," they heard Kagome say before walking off.

"Your energy…" she whispered as her hands slid back and rested on his chest. "This is the most calm I have ever felt from your energy…"

"This Sesshomaru's inner youkai is content," Sesshomaru spoke as he stood, pulling her with him to her feet. "Dress yourself."

"Thank you for allowing me to stay within your pack," she smiled as she turned and felt the edge of the counter for her pile of clothing.

Her strange garments sat on top of the pile, these ones black and slid the bottoms on before allowing the white cloth to drop to the ground and he watched as she fastened the top with small metal hoops and hooks. Then she pulled on a pair of hamakas that were black and looked like they were made of satin as they hugged her legs before pulling on a long sleeved deep purple satin dress that had a high collar and fell to her ankles with slits up to her hips as the fabric also hugged her body. As she turned around to face him, he noticed that a diamond shaped piece was missing to reveal the western mark on her sternum.

"What do you call this style of clothing?"

"It's from China, across the ocean," she spoke as she braided her maroon strands. "Is it okay?"

"It is acceptable," he hummed before leaving the bathroom and she followed.

"Sesshomaru…?" Kagome came out of the room that had been closed earlier to reveal a very pink room. "You're here… How…?"

"A simple feat for this Sesshomaru," he answered as Azya hurried past him into the pink bedroom and grabbed the bag that she had brought and noticed that it was much fuller than when she had first left the castle.

"You're leaving then, Azya?"

"Yeah, I have been gone longer than was promised."

"I'll keep the safe you are leaving behind hidden so that if you need anything, you know where they are and you won't have to worry about losing anything."

"Thank you again," Azya spoke, hugging the miko before returning to his side and grabbed his empty sleeve as he turned around and headed back down the stairs.

"Are you leaving so soon Azya?" the older woman that Sesshomaru assumed was Kagome's mother, asked as she came around and touched her shoulder.

"I stayed longer than I should have. I appreciate your hospitality and helping me get things straightened out as I've been here. I am sure that I will be back eventually for short periods, but not to often I hope," Azya smiled as the older woman hugged her.

"Just be safe out there, it is a dangerous place from what I hear."

"I will, but don't worry. Sesshomaru takes great care of my needs and has been helping me adjust to be able to do things without guidance or help."

"Be safe, none the less."

"Come," Sesshomaru spoke and she grabbed his sleeve again, not bothering to grab her boots from by the doorway.

Once outside the house, Sesshomaru pulled her into his arm and she adjusted the bag so that it was in her lap as she sat cradled in his arm and he wasted no time in jumping through the well to the world he was familiar with. As he landed in the grass beside the well, Azya took a deep breath before sighing and smirked as he walked back to the human village, keeping her in his arm to gather Ah-Un. He sensed the two-headed dragon coming their way and frowned, seeing the fox child on his back when he came into view.

"Inuyasha's brother…!" the boy cried out as he jumped off Ah-Un and ran off back towards the village.

"They are so touchy when it comes to you," Azya chuckled as he summoned his cloud and jumped into the air as the two-headed dragon followed. "Guess the same could be said about you with me."

"Hn."

"You still never answered my question about why you are so touchy with me."

"This Sesshomaru marks you so that no one question who your pack is."

"Scent marking? You actually do that? I thought only dogs… Oh, my bad," Azya trailed off with a weak laugh. "Youkai can actually smell other's scents? Guess I should have figured that one out since even I can pick up on your scent… Is your scent marking a bonus to my mark, an extra form of protection?"

"Of sorts. For those who will mistake your mark for a mating mark, they expect my scent on you."

"So you mark me, knowing that jealous females will mistake the mark. Interesting concept," Azya mused as she tightened her grip on the bag and rested her head on his pelt. "You're an odd one for having a reputation of being cold and ruthless all the time."

"Silence."

"You should be used to me talking so much Sessh."

"Sleep woman, you can give Rin your gifts in the morning," Sesshomaru spoke as she yawned.

"Has anyone ever told you that you are bossy?" she mused as her eyes slowly closed.


	18. Chapter 18

Azya felt a rumbling against her back as she woke up and frowned. She knew she was not in the rooms that she shared with Rin since she could not sense the child nearby. A weight was over her waist and she felt something soft in front of her that twitched like a dog's tail as her fingers moved against it, causing the rumbling behind her to increase. She focused on the energy and felt Sesshomaru's energy humming quieter than she had ever felt before. She focused on his quiet breaths and wondered if he was actually asleep.

She smiled before focusing on the fur in front of her and flinched when it moved to wrap around her right leg several times like a snake trapping its prey. The weight over her waist moved and she got pulled closer against the body behind her as a warm hand made contact with her bare stomach under her clothing. She focused on Sesshomaru's energy and it didn't fluctuate to give her any clue if he was fast asleep or been awake this whole time. She grabbed his wrist to try and remove his hand from under her clothing but a growl rumbled from behind her as his hand moved up even further before resting against her sternum.

A gasp escaped her lips as her heartbeat sped up as her body felt warmer in her embarrassment at the situation. She tried again to budge his arm and struggled against the hold he had put her in with his arm and pelt. As she struggled, she felt his energy shift slightly as he growled again.

"Sessh, wake up," Azya snapped as she dug an elbow into the body behind her only to let out a whimper as she was suddenly on her back and she felt Sesshomaru above her, his legs on either side of her hips while he held himself up, his hand beside her head. "Sessh…?"

"The sun has not even risen so why do you wake this Sesshomaru up?" he growled, his voice slightly rough from sleep.

"When I wake up to being molested by you and your pelt, it becomes a problem," Azya spoke weakly, her heart refusing to slow down. "Why was I even sleeping with you?"

"This Sesshomaru did not want to wake Rin. She has been asking nonstop when you were going to return and if she had been woken, she would not have gone back to sleep," Sesshomaru spoke as he laid back down beside her.

"That doesn't explain why I am in your bed," she muttered as she tried to steady her erratic heart that she knew he could hear.

"It is normal for pack mates to sleep together."

"Is it normal to be felt up by said pack mate?"

"You gain more from your pack mate's scent from skin contact."

"So you are just scent marking me again?" Azya sighed as she felt his arm across her waist again and pulled her back against him.

"Sleep woman, there is still time before the sun comes up."

"Will having your scent help these lesser females from challenging me?"

"It will deter some and none will dare attack while you are at my side."

"I know that I am not ready to have someone start attacking me without holding back," Azya spoke as she sat up and pulled of her top and threw it off the bed before laying back down, facing Sesshomaru. "I doubt I can remain beside you this entire time as an excuse to not have anyone challenge me."

"Hn," Sesshomaru hummed as he pulled her against him as he rolled onto his back, making her lay mostly on his bare chest.

"Don't molest me anymore," Azya muttered as she buried her face against his neck.

"This Sesshomaru would not stoop so low to disrespect a pack mate in such away."

"Hn," she mimicked his usual responses and heard him snort in amusement.

* * *

Sesshomaru stared at the painted murals on the ceiling as the sun barely started to peak over the horizon. The human was still laying on him, having moved closer at some point when they had gone back to sleep. He felt her heartbeat against his chest and his palm as it sat in the center of back right over the strap of her strange top garment. It surprised him some that as a human woman, she had adjusted quickly to being around a being she had only heard myths about and she trusted him.

She teased him and talked his ear off, but Sesshomaru found her odd behaviors amusing and as she progressed in her training, his respect for the blind woman grew. When she had asked if she could remain by his side, even if the mark faded, he had surprised himself with the honesty of his answer. When she first became a part of his pack, he constantly thought killing the weak woman once the mark faded, but now as they traveled, he realized that was the furthest thing from the truth as she proved herself to not be weak even if she was a blind human. He had gained a bond with this human, though he was not sure what kind of bond that was.

A knock could be heard from the other room and Sesshomaru sensed his personal servant, Priscilla enter the outer rooms. He listened as she set a tray of tea down as she did every day before opening the blinds. Then he heard her knock on the doors to the dark bedroom.

"My lord, the morning meal will be ready shortly," Priscilla spoke through the door before leaving without another word.

"I don't want to wake up," Azya murmured sleepily against his neck.

"Hn." Sesshomaru pushed her off of him and she fell against his pelt as he got up.

"So it's not attached to you…"

"And what made you think it was attached," he spoke as he glanced back at her as she curled up around his Mokomoko.

"You never take it off. I can feel your energy in it," she mused as she sat up and ran her hands through her platinum locks to untangle them. "Would you rather I wear one of the kimonos that you had made for me?"

"If it is like the clothing you were wearing last night, it is acceptable clothing."

"Thank you. I've never liked multiple layers of clothing that is required with kimonos," she smiled as she crawled off the bed.

She found her bag against the wall and started searching through it, pulling out a white dress of the same style and it had red sakura blossoms stitched randomly across the fabric. She pulled it on the fabric before finding the purple top she had tossed off in the night. Sesshomaru watched her as he dressed and frowned.

"You are able to find things much quicker."

"It's getting easier. I can feel the changes in the terrain so finding a balled up dress on a flat ground is pretty simple now. Though it is still a little difficult to make my way through this castle since the youkai energies and the vibrations from all their movements make it difficult. The rings on the staff helps, giving me a feel for the immediate area around me. It's not as effective as being able to sense the plant life around me when we travel, but it is a form of training I guess. When the winter months come, I will have to wear shoes again and I hope it will be simple to navigate through anything by that point," Azya shrugged as she tucked the purple top into the bag and picked it up. "Shall we go wake Rin? She won't be as forgiving if she doesn't have a peace offering from me returning."

"Hn."

He lead the way and felt her follow as they walked over to the room were Rin was in. He heard her singing to herself from the hot spring and sat at the low table as Azya set her bag down beside him. She walked over to the hot spring and entered quietly. Sesshomaru listened and heard Rin squeal in excitement.

"Azya! Where did you go? Rin thought you left because you did not like us," he heard Rin say all in a single breath.

"I could never be away from you for too long. Get dressed, dearest Rin, I brought some things back for you," Azya responded before coming back out and sat beside him.

She started going through her bag, feeling around under the pile of clothing for what she was looking for. She pulled out three oddly rectangular shaped packages wrapped in a dark blue paper that shimmered and set them down on the table as Rin came bounding into the room, a grin across her face. Azya chuckled as Rin sat down beside her and pushed the packages in front of the girl.

Sesshomaru watched as Rin started to open the packages, her grin only widening. The first package was some yellow box with dozens of colors, the second being a large book full of blank pages, and the third was some kind of white stuffed animal that looked suspiciously like a dog. He watched as Rin immediately hugged the white animal tightly before jumping onto Azya, knocking her backwards onto the ground as she hugged her.

"Thank you!" Rin squealed.

"What is the box?" Sesshomaru frowned.

"They are called crayons, I mentioned them before. They are made of wax and make it a fun, mess-free thing to use to draw," Azya chuckled as she sat back up, Rin still in her arms. "Put your gifts away for now, dearest Rin, it is almost time for the morning meal."

"Okay," Rin smiled before getting off Azya and took her gifts into the bedroom and returned with Azya's ringed staff.

"Thank you," Azya smiled as she took the staff before standing up as he stood. He headed out of the room as Rin grabbed Azya's hand and they followed after him.


	19. Chapter 19

Sesshomaru sat in his study going over the final scrolls that had been piling up the past two lunar cycles. He knew that the two humans of his pack had been outside when he had entered his study and hadn't heard any changes of where they were since. Azya had requested more training so she could learn how to adjust with fighting against others whose energies she wasn't used to so Sesshomaru changed the guard rotation so two different guards worked with her every afternoon while Rin had her studies. He heard the sounds of footsteps coming towards his study fast and frowned before the doors opened and Rin stumbled into the room.

"A strange woman... in the gardens..." Rin sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Azya..."

"Priscilla," Sesshomaru spoke and the older youkai appeared and guided the distraught child away as he got to his feet and walked over to his balcony.

A panther youkai and Azya were circling each other, the panther had a dagger drawn while Azya kept her staff between them, spinning it slowly to keep the rings moving and clang against each other. A perfect welt of the staff was visible on the panther's cheek while blood soaked Azya's left sleeve that was ripped from her upper arm, down to the edge of her sleeve but she kept her wrist higher than the dripping blood, preventing blood from landing on her staff.

The panther youkai lunged at Azya with the dagger and Azya brought her staff downward, hitting the panther's hand. The panther redirected her attack upwards, making Azya jump backwards to dodge the attack. She lurched forward under the panther's arm and brought her staff upwards as she went, the end of the staff meeting the panther's chin and threw her backwards and onto her back from the unexpected movement several feet away.

The panther growled as she struggled to move from the impact and Sesshomaru could see blood rolling down the panther's chin. A growling sound came from Azya as she charged forward against her downed attacker and jumped into the air, bringing the staff down as she planted her feet on either sides of the panther. Sesshomaru jumped over the railing as youkai, both soldiers and guests started to gather. He heard the panther's cry of surprise and walked over to see the ending results. Azya had lodged her staff in the ground beside the youkai, the staff pressed against the panther's cheek.

"Y...you missed..." the panther panted.

"Whatever makes you feel better," Azya snarled. "I train three times a away with the Lord who has graciously allowed you to stay within his home and his soldiers. I may be human, I may be blind, but I am not incompetent. Two inches to the right and my staff would be in your brain. I feel the life forces around me, cat, people and plant life alike. I can tell when one is human or youkai, and have learned to distinguish if they are humanoid or otherwise."

"You failed..."

"I chose to spare your pitiful life, cat," Azya snapped as jerked the staff out of the ground. "Life is too precious to waste because you think that I fuck your Lord. Get your facts right, you piece of shit!"

"I will kill you!" the panther snarled as she pushed Azya away and jumped to her feet and lunged.

Azya brought her staff up to meet the arm coming at her and the cracking of the staff's wood echoed as the panther punched through the staff. She bent backwards so that the punch wouldn't reach her and brought the jagged edges of the staff up as the panther kept coming from her momentum and hit the two ends of the spear with a groan. Azya fell onto her back and rolled out of the way so the panther did not land on her as she fell, pushing the two pieces of Azya's staff further into her body as she landed.

"Wh...what...?" the panther gasped, coughing up blood.

"So... Your own rash actions have brought your death," Azya spoke quietly as she sat up beside the bleeding panther. "Your energy and life force is fading fast. Karma is a bitch, ain't it cat? "

"Kumia..." the panther weezed.

"Well, Kumia, you fucked up and it cost you the most precious thing you could have valued... Life," Azya sighed, bringing her arms around herself. "I honestly did not want to take any one's life, considering I had gotten a second chance after wasting my own. I hope that wherever you go in the next world, they are more sympathetic."

"Y...you... don't hate... me..."

"To challenge another out of feeling threatened by their very presence... That is the way you know, Kumia. My lifespan is to short compared to many others, I can't waste the little things over feeling hate because the way another lives is different than my own. I'll stay until your last breaths, for every being deserves at least that respect to not die alone."

"I... I'm... so...rry..."

"So am I," Azya whispered as the group watching came closer as the panther's last breath faded away.

Sesshomaru walked over to his companion as he saw her body start to tremble and gathered her up into his arm. He heard several whispered conversations about Azya's words but focused on the human trembling in his arm and jumped back up to his study's balcony and headed down the empty halls to his personal quarters. He glanced down at his packmate and frowned, seeing her eyes glazed over and unfocused as she shook.

In his quarters, he entered his private bathing spring and set Azya near the edge before removing his weapons and clothing and entered the spring. He removed her clothing except her odd garments that hid her dignity and wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into the water. He felt her stand as she seemed to focus on where she was and he let go of her and focused on the large cut on her arm. She moved her head to the arm he held as he examined the wound, before her body collapsed against him and he caught her before she fell into the water. He brought her over to the edge and sat down in the water, bringing her into his lap and wrapped his arm around her still trembling body even though she lost consciousness.

"My lord?" Priscilla entered the bathing room. "Is the marked one alright?"

"She is in shock. Where is Rin?"

"The child is in the study with her tutors and your retainer. She worries much for the marked one," Priscilla spoke as she gathered up both piles of clothing. "I shall bring new clothing for you both. Shall I summon the healer?"

"No."

"I will return shortly," Priscilla bowed before leaving with the bundle of clothing.

Sesshomaru glanced down at the human in his lap and sighed. She brought out a lot of emotions that he did not understand and didn't know how to react to these emotions that raged inside of him. Following the urges of his inner youkai, he bit into his wrist before pressing it against Azya's slightly parted lips. She stirred and coughed as his blood filled her mouth and she tried to push his arm away, but she was weak and didn't even budge his arm.

"N...no..." she coughed as his blood fell rolled down her chin.

"Drink woman, your wound is deep," Sesshomaru growled.

"No..." she turned her head, and buried her face against his chest. "I cannot take more from you..."

"Explain," he frowned.

"I do not want that tree to be right..." she whimpered and he smelt the salt of her tears.

"What did Bokuseno tell you?" he grabbed her chin and forced her to lift her head.

"If I take in more from you... My sight will return..." she sobbed. "I cannot ask you for such a selfish request, nor do I feel any joy at the prospect of seeing again. I fear that I will lose the ability to feel this world around me..."

"Bokuseno thinks your sight will return?"

"Now you know why I asked if he was senile," she whispered, not fighting his grip around her chin. "He said that if I had healed completely then I would not have to rely so heavily on my remaining senses. Your sire only brought me to your world and gave me this mark, but it is only by the blood that courses through you that I am alive. You are the true reason I am alive, so how could I ask for something so selfish?"

"This Sesshomaru provides for you in every aspect that you need, woman, to ask for the one thing that has created this bond is between you and I, is in your right otherwise this Sesshomaru has not cared for you completely."

"I refuse to it," she cried as she tried to push away from him, but he kept a firm grip around her chin and neck.

"Woman, you are stubborn," Sesshomaru frowned.

"Please... Sesshomaru... Please, let me go."

"No," Sesshomaru growled before biting his tongue and pressed his lips against hers as he pulled her against him.

Her hands came to his shoulders and tried to push him away as she protested, but he slid his bleeding tongue into her mouth, not letting her have a chance to spit it out as he kissed her. She would run out of air soon and would have to swallow his blood. He felt her nails pierce his shoulders as she fought against him, but with being a youkai, she would not be able to succeed in getting away.


	20. Chapter 20

I own nothing from Inuyasha.

Please enjoy and review.

* * *

After he knew she had several mouthfuls of his blood, he let her go and she started coughing. She moved to the other side of the spring as she stared crying and gasping for air. He remained where he was and watched as she tried to make herself puke, only to cry harder as she was unsuccessful.

"It is pointless to fight it, woman."

"I did not want it!" she screamed, keeping her back to him as she covered her face.

"You can only improve on what you have already learned."

"And if what I see scares me enough to return to my world? What then? What would you and Rin do?"

"Do not speak such nonsense," Sesshomaru growled as he appeared behind her and pinned both of her wrists to the edge of the spring and trapped her body between him and the edge. "If sensing all the energies around you, did not scare you away, seeing won't change that. You are apart of this Sesshomaru's pack and help care for a child who clings to you. Did you not already mention that you would feel more regret abandoning the child and this pack?"

"Don't use my words against me," she whimpered.

"Would it be that terrible to be able to see again, Azya?" Sesshomaru asked as he buried his face against her neck, feeling her flinch.

"I... I don't know..."

"You would be able to see the child when she smiles, and all the things that you can only sense."

"To see the life fade from people I may kill instead of just feeling it?" She scoffed. "I do not want to take another life... I felt her fear as her life force started to fade. I could hear her pain... Her last breaths... I do not want to see that..."

"Do not focus on those details, woman. You would be dead if you had not killed her. You had to defend yourself."

"I killed a living being..." she whispered slowly, not listening to him and he felt her start to tremble.

"Do not linger on the facts," Sesshomaru growled as he turned her around and wrapped his arm around her, making her gasp. "If you truly think that each life is precious, you cannot linger on death."

"Sessh..." He could feel her discomfort and noticed her neck and shoulders turn red from her blush, knowing she finally realized how little clothing she was in. "Can you please let me go...?"

"You humans and your sense of needing privacy," he snorted in amusement and noticed that her blush darkened as he let her go.

"It's more than that," she muttered quietly. "Your inner youkai is quite happy and so is you physically self... "

"There is no shame for physical reactions," he spoke.

"Considering your size... " her face turned completely red as she clamped her hands over her mouth and she sank into the water until the water was over her nose.

"And what would a human woman know about one's size?" he asked curiously as he sat against the edge, watching her as she shook her head. "Do you desire this Sesshomaru?"

"Wh...where are my clothes?" she stuttered on her words as she lifted her head out of the water to talk and he smirked at her attempt to change the subject.

"Priscilla took them to wash. She will bring clothing when she returns. Considering your reaction and your blush, your actions answer my question quite clearly."

"Oh shut up," she muttered. "Any woman would be impressed with the size of your manhood. It does not mean I desire you."

"Hn."

"Cocky bastard," she snapped before disappearing under the murky water to wet her hair before surfacing.

A quiet sigh left her lips before she came near him where the cleaning soaps sat. As she reached to grab the soap, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his lap. She gasped, not expecting that and he felt her body shiver as all space between them disappeared, her straddling him.

"What... are you doing...?" she stammered as she fought to get away.

"Your body knows that of a male," he mused.

"Your point?" she snapped.

"You are not mated."

"Many people in my world do not marry just to know sexual satisfaction. That does not make me some whore or an easy claim for you to have your way with."

"This Sesshomaru never said that it made your worth any less. You will not know when your sight will return if you keep them closed. You took in more from me than the last time," Sesshomaru spoke quietly.

"You didn't really give me much choice in that matter," Azya muttered as she opened her eyes and molten gold orbs stared back at him. She took a deep breath and as she let it out, it was shaky as she brought a hand up to cover her mouth as a sob escaped her. "Oh... I..."

"Take a breath, woman before you pass out from lack of air."

"You... " She let out a weak chuckle as brought her hand away from her face and touched his neck, her thumb against his chin.

"I'll ask again, is it that terrible to be able to see again?"

"I... I don't know..." She sobbed even though there was a small smile on her face. "I honestly gave up the chance that this would even be a possibility..."

Sesshomaru smirked at her confusing reaction and saw a light blush appear on her cheeks. She pushed hard against him and he let her go as she moved backwards until her back hit the far end of the spring, bringing one hand to cover her face from him as the other came to rest against the base of her neck. He could hear her breaths become faster and shallow and started to move to make sure she was okay.

"N...no..." her voice was strained as she tried to breath. "Stay away. I can't breathe..."

"Azya."

"Shut up," Azya gasped.

"Woman. "

"God, why do you have to be so fucking perfect?" She groaned as her hands came up to cover her ears. "This is your fault... Everything was fine... then you return this cursed sight. God, I'm going to Hell. "

"I have brought clothing my lord," Priscilla's voice was heard before the door to the bathing area opened and she placed the two piles of clothing on a bench. "I have calmed the child down some and she is with her tutor in the study. Marked one, do you require anything."

"No..." she whispered weakly and Priscilla left.

As soon as the door slid shut, Azya pulled herself out of the water and dashed to her clothing. She grabbed the drying cloth and started to dry herself, but he knew now why she was suddenly acting so strange. He stepped out of the water to her and wrapped his arm arms around her waist and pulled her flush against his body.


	21. Chapter 21

"Has one look at this Sesshomaru caused you to be so aroused?" His voice wad quiet as he whispered in her ear and Azya felt a shiver course through her sexually frustrated body.

This Inu youkai that had taken her in, healed her, protected her, and taught her, was causing her so much distress. Not only had he proven that there wasn't anything he couldn't do, he was the most perfect being she had ever seen. His pale features were sculpted but not too hard, complimenting the marks on his face. She had to get away from this tormenting youkai before he became her undoing. She could feel his arousal pressed against her back as he held her against him. It wasn't right. She knew that being human, she couldn't want or lust after a youkai. Now after one look at her pack mate, all thoughts were slipping through the window.

"Please let me go..." She whimpered. "I can't..."

"If this Sesshomaru desired you, what would your answer be?" He growled before she felt him nibble her neck.

"This... isn't right..." Azya whimpered, hating the fact that she couldn't compose herself like she was wanting. "You are a... Lord... and Inu youkai... I am... human..."

"Do not listen to the conversations of those around you," he mused as his hand slid up the center of her body and she bit her lip to try and contain any possible sounds as his hand rested on her sternum. "There is little possibility of this mark ever fading and you are a Western royal as long as it remains. Your race is not of any importance to this Sesshomaru."

"N...no... I have to check on Rin..." Azya forced out as she felt a warmth pool in the center of her body.

"You refuse this Sesshomaru?" She could hear the hurt in his voice and flinched as he let her go and stepped away.

"You misunderstand me," Azya snapped as she turned around, but he disappeared from the room. "Damn it!"

Azya dressed quickly, grateful that Priscilla had brought dry underwear with the clothing she had grabbed. It was one of the kimonos that Sesshomaru had made and smiled as she studied the colors and patterns of flowers, but knew she needed to find the sexually frustrated youkai as well ad find Rin. Finding Rin was priority and Azya ran out of the rooms as she pulled her hair into a messy bun, focusing on the child's energy that she could still feel and familiarized herself with the architecture as she ran. Unfamiliar faces that had vaguely familiar energies moved out of her way as she ran. She found the study and opened the doors to see the beautiful child that she started to love live like family.

"Azya...?" The brown eyes child frowned and Azya came to her and pulled her into her arms. "You're okay! What happened to your eyes?"

"The mark I bear has completely healed me and now I will be able to see your beautiful face. Are you okay, dearest Rin?"

"Yes," Rin grinned.

"I'm glad. I have something I need to do, but I'll be back soon. Pay attention to your lessons and if I'm not back then listen to Priscilla, okay?" Azya smiled as she set Rin down.

"Okay, but what happened?"

"Story time later, lessons first," Azya spoke before leaving the study and focused on finding Sesshomaru's energy.

She could feel his hurt, but a rage like she had never felt overpowered that hurt. Cursing under her breath, she focused on where his energy was and hurried through the large castle until she came to the dojo she trained at. She took a deep breath and opened the door even though she wanted to run the other way, and saw Sesshomaru surrounded by over a dozen soldiers as they sparred.

"You are not welcome in here," Sesshomaru growled, not even bothering to stop his sparring.

"Return to your stations, men," Azya snarled, Sesshomaru's anger pissing her off.

"You do not order my men!" The angry Lord appeared in front of her and she saw a red hue around his amber orbs.

"I bear your family's mark, dog, and if I tell them to get back to their posts, they better fucking listen!" Azya snapped.

"Insolent human," Sesshomaru hissed as he reached for her but stopped centimeters from her neck as the soldiers disappeared from the dojo instantly.

"You know that you cannot hurt me, dog. You are acting like all those bitches after being told no, and too sexually frustrated to even wait around to listen as to why."

"This Sesshomaru has no reason to listen. You refused me!" He hissed.

"And for good fucking reason too!" Azya snapped. "You don't even care to understand. Not only was there a child worried sick because I could have been hurt, but you can't just go around asking for a rut just because your pack mate happens to be just as sexually frustrated. I trust you Sesshomaru and I know you wouldn't hurt me like that, but the last male I let in took it too far. You can't just expect someone to say yes to sex after being sexually and emotionally abused and having the only way out is to be in a fatal accident."

"Woman," Sesshomaru growled as the red in his eyes started to fade.

"I am talking so you will shut up and listen," Azya interrupted, feeling her eyes sting with tears. "I trust you. I have always felt safe near you or even within your barriers. I haven't had that for who knows how long, Sessh, but I can't just have some sexual relationship as a mutual convenience no matter how hard it was to control myself. You have helped me rebuild myself from a weak girl who would say yes for attention and not be strong enough to care about the consequences.

"No matter how hard it was to not jump you, I can't just give in for possible a one time deal or knowing that it won't be anything other than that. Can you understand that? I know I hurt you by saying no, believe me, it hurt me too and I would rather you hate me than you hurting because of this," Azya cried, her voice quieter as her anger faded. "You are the most perfect being that I have ever met but you don't go dancing with the devil even if your promised a good time."

"Azya," he frowned as he took a step towards her and she stepped backwards, feeling her tears spill over. He continued to walk towards her and her back hit a wall. He reached her and she flinched as he brought his hand up and cupped her cheek. "Do you really think that this Sesshomaru would wish you harm?"

"You wanted to," Azya muttered as she turned her head away from him. "If not for this mark, you probably would have."

"This Sesshomaru was not thinking clearly and never been told no when asking for something."

"You had a tantrum like when a child is told no."

"That is possibly the closest description, yes," he mused as he lifted her chin so she had to look at him. "This Sesshomaru... I apologize for my behavior. I lost some control when I had smelt your arousal, all just because the first thing you saw was your pack mate with no clothing."

"Not that you need an ego boost, but you are a very attractive Inu youkai and perfect. I yet have to see a fault," Azya chuckled and saw the corners of his mouth lift slightly and touched his cheek, "but I still have to say no to you Sessh while I still am able to. I am not ready to give into a relationship so deep."

"This Sesshomaru is patient," he smirked before his arm came around her shoulders and held her close.

"Why me...?" Azya felt her face heat up at his words as she gripped the fabric of his haori at his waist. "There are so many youkai here literally dying for your attention."

"It is your right as the alpha female of this one's pack, not just because we are bound by that mark you bear, but because this Sesshomaru and this one's inner youkai has chosen you. This Sesshomaru cares not for a mate who only want wealth and power. Since joining this Sesshomaru's pack, you have proved that you can provide even when you did not have your sight and you could protect your pack."

"But I'm human and you have shown your hatred for half-breeds. Both races are pathetic and weak..."

"Azya," Sesshomaru lifted her head to make her look at him and she frowned. "You are neither weak or pathetic. You are strong and determined. You have taken down one of the stronger females within this one's home and showed mercy and respect. You are well-taught and continue to learn both in mind and body. As for the distaste for the half-breed, Inuyasha, that is against him alone. This one's sire was killed protecting the half-breed's mother and the half-breed is brash and does not think. He does not learn from the battles and pines after a woman who is made of clay and cremated ash that died half a century ago instead of taking care of the one in his pack. He is but a child with no teachings."

"Your thoughts of power and gaining your sire's fang has changed since your last encounter."

"The Tessaiga is useless to this Sesshomaru now."

"And what would you do if I was never ready for what you desire? Or if I die? No matter how strong I am, I still am human and more vulnerable to injury and sickness. Your blood can't heal me forever."

"If that time ever comes, then Sesshomaru will handle it, but you are here for now," he spoke before he pressed his lips to her brow. "Come, it is nearly time for the midday meal."

"Insufferable dog," Azya chuckled as he pulled her into his arm and carried her out of the dojo.


	22. Chapter 22

I own nothing from Inuyasha.

Please enjoy and review!

* * *

"It sparkled," Jaken exclaimed giddily. "A star just sparkled. Did you see, Lord Sesshomaru?"

Azya smiled as she looked back at the little green imp as he held Ah-Un's reigns. Rin had fallen asleep some time ago as they kept traveling through the night and was fast asleep on Ah-Un's back. She looked ahead of her as they stopped near a cliff's edge and looked up into the night, recognizing constellations and the Milky Way's band in the night sky. Now that her sight had returned, she could see that Kagome had told her the truth. She was still in Japan, just not to a world that she knew as Inu No Taisho had said when he offered her a second chance to live.

"Ah, Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken ran into Sesshomaru, not realizing he had stopped and Azya snorted in amusement before she sensed a familiar energy to that of the youkai that had become Tokijin and the strange woman that they had run into right after getting the blade commissioned.

"His scent is in the air," Sesshomaru commented before she could hear Jaken's loud sniffing.

"You're right. It's the scent of that Naraku fellow who was so rude to you, Lord Sesshomaru. Is he nearby?" Jaken asked, concerned before there was a massive increase in the wind. "What's going on?"

"There's a familiar energy in this wind," Azya muttered quietly as she looked back and saw Rin being pushed off Ah-Un. She dashed back to catch her before she hit the ground as Jaken tumbled passed the two-headed dragon and smiled to see that Rin hadn't even stirred from her slumber. She looked around and saw a woman falling from the sky and land before Sesshomaru. "It's that energy from before…"

"Yo," the woman spoke as she stood and Azya remembered that she had introduced herself to be the wind sorceress, Kagura, as the wind calmed back down.

"Yo, yourself," Jaken muttered.

"Sesshomaru, I assume you came here following Naraku's scent, as well," Kagura commented.

"Lord Sesshomaru, this wench is Naraku's incarnation!" Jaken spoke, pointing out the obvious as Rin woke. Azya set her down beside Jaken before walking in front of her two smallest companions.

"Wind sorceress Kagura, I recall," Sesshomaru spoke coldly.

"So… you remember me. I am very flattered," Kagura smiled as Sesshomaru brought his hand up to Tokijin's hilt.

"Hard not to, considering how annoying your voice is," Azya muttered.

"Take your hand from your sword. I didn't come to fight, Sesshomaru. I have a proposition you might be interested in."

"Proposition?" Sesshomaru spoke and Azya could hear the slight interest in his voice as she stood behind him.

"You know what these are, Sesshomaru." Kagura held out her hand to reveal two shards that were a smoky pink color. "I'll give you these sacred jewel shards. In return, I want you to kill Naraku."

"What?" Jaken screeched.

"Free me. Release me from his grasp."

"Why does this sound like a trap? There is a malice in those shards, Sesshomaru," Azya whispered as she kicked Jaken behind her to silence his annoying voice that was causing her to have a headache.

"You have the power to do it. Once you kill Naraku, all the sacred jewel shards he has gathered will be yours. Let's use those shards and provide ourselves with a little amusement."

"You intend to betray Naraku?" Sesshomaru inquired.

"It's not as though I have chosen to live under his command. What do you think of my plan? Joining forces would be of mutual benefit," the woman smiled, making Azya frown.

"Unfortunately, I have no interest in the sacred jewel. If you wish to become free, use those shards yourself and destroy Naraku."

"Hmm!" Kagura scoffed, taking a step forward and Azya stepped in between the two of them, crossing her arms across her chest as she glared at the red-eyed woman. "Are you afraid of him? What is this, a human shield?"

"I'm saying I'm under no obligation to assist you. If you don't have the resolve to go it alone, don't even think about betraying him."

"Foolish coward! And you call yourself a man? I misjudged you," Kagura snapped as she pulled a feather out of her hair and the wind increased around them.

"You certainly did misjudge him, for he is Daiyoukai who follows up on his threats, not some incarnation who wants to betray the one who made them but has no conviction to do it without the help of others," Azya snapped as she watched the woman jump high into the air.

"Ha! That despicable woman. You know, I wonder if she truly intended to make you her protector. Talk about gall. Where on earth does she get the nerve? An incarnation, that's all she is," Jaken scoffed, crossing his little arms.

"You're so strong, Lord Sesshomaru. You don't even need the power of the sacred jewel," Rin spoke and Azya smiled, pulling the child into her arms.

"You are too smart for your own good, dearest Rin," Azya smiled as she hugged the grinning child.

"Milord, where are you off to? Are you leaving already?" Jaken exclaimed and Azya watched as he started to walk away. Jaken ran after him and Azya let Rin down as she ran forward before grabbing Ah-Un's reigns and followed after them silently, feeling Sesshomaru deep in thought.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I'm not lonely anymore, but I wonder if Kagura is," Rin spoke as she walked beside Sesshomaru and Azya smiled at how innocent the child was as she looked up to Sesshomaru.

"Milord, what shall we do about dinner?" Jaken called after them and Azya snorted as she ran a hand across Ah-Un's scaly shoulder as she followed behind a few paces behind.

"Why don't you find your own food?" Azya sighed as she ran a hand against the side of her throbbing head.

"You wretched woman," Jaken turned to yell at her and she kicked him hard as she reached him, sending him flying like a soccer ball across the field.

"You're voice is giving me a headache," Azya snapped after the flying imp.

"Azya… That wasn't very nice to make Jaken fly like that," Rin frowned as she looked back at her.

"He caused this pain, so he gets the repercussions," Azya muttered as she stopped walking and leaned against Ah-Un while she rubbed her temples with both hands.

"Woman." Azya lifted her head up as Sesshomaru walked back to stand in front of her. "What is the matter?"

"My head is killing me," Azya groaned as she slid down to the ground against Ah-Un's leg. "I haven't had a migraine like this for a while…"

"Azya?" Rin's hands touched her shoulder.

"This migraine will go away eventually, dearest Rin. Why don't you go find Jaken and see if you can find some food?"

"Okay," Rin smiled happily before running off and Azya groaned quietly.

She pulled her knees up to her chest as she curled up against Ah-Un as she felt the dragon, lay down behind her. She closed her eyes as she brought her hands up to cover her ears to try and quiet the sounds she could hear around her. She could feel Sesshomaru beside her, concern in his energy as he knelt down beside her, his hand resting on her head.

"Woman, what medicines do you need?"

"If I had realized I would get a migraine like this, I would have brought medicine back with me… It's a good thing I can focus without using my eyes, because the light sensitivity gets nauseating. Lavender helps sometimes and there's an ingredient in grape juice that helps… but if nothing helps, this migraine can last days…" Azya groaned quietly and felt him move before she found herself cradled in his arm as they started to move.

"Where are we going? What about Rin and Jaken?"

"Ah-Un will bring them to camp," Sesshomaru spoke quietly. "Rest."

"I don't know if I can…" she whispered as she felt Sesshomaru sit down and cradle her in his lap as his pelt came around her curled up form, her back resting against his raised knee. "Your scent…"

"Hn."

Azya wrapped her arms around Sesshomaru's neck and buried her face against his neck as she moved her legs so they were curled up underneath her between Sesshomaru's legs. He wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close as she felt a content humming from his energy. Focusing on the calming scent that his reminded her of, Azya took a deep breath in hope that it would help with her migraine.


	23. Chapter 23

Almost a full lunar cycle had passed and Azya was still severely sick from the pain in her head that she had called a migraine. As they traveled, she remained on Ah-Un and didn't open her eyes and any loud sounds caused her to be sick. When they made camp, she would sleep away from the campfire and usually in his lap or wrapped around his pelt under her furs. Rin did her best to help and Jaken remained quiet as much as he could as they traveled.

Sesshomaru watched his companion as she slept, curled up in his lap with his pelt wrapped around her to keep her warm for the night as a river rumbled nearby quietly. Jaken and Rin slept nearby the fire a few paces away while Ah-Un slept behind them in the woods. He sat against a tree with her head against his right leg with her back to him as he ran his hand through her loose hair.

She let out a small whine as a lock of her hair fell onto her cheek and he brushed it back as her eyes opened slightly. She brought a hand to her head and rubbed her temple as she sat up slowly, keeping her back to him as she groaned. He let his pelt wrap around her waist and pulled her against his chest. She curled up against him and rested her head against his chest, her face half hidden in his pelt.

"Woman."

"Silence," she muttered as if mocking him.

"You should return to your time for medicine if your pain is still so bad."

"I want to sleep and you woke me up," she whispered and he snorted at her response and hugged her close. "The pain has subsided for now, I shall return later to gather some medicine so this hopefully doesn't happen again."

"You continue to refuse this Sesshomaru, but then do this."

"It is normal for pack mates to sleep together," she spoke, repeating the same words he had told her once. "Molesting is not allowed."

"What do you take this Sesshomaru for?" he growled as he tightened his grip around her waist slightly, making her squeak. "Do you doubt this one's honor?"

"It is questionable when I can feel how happy your inner youkai is," she snorted as she lifted her head to look at him. "Why would it chose me?"

"This Sesshomaru will not repeat oneself. Return to sleep, woman."

"As usual, you are insufferable, but I guess that is just a part of who you are," she smiled at him as she laid her head against his pelt again.

"Hn," he smirked, burying his head into her two-toned hair.

"What do you gain from my scent?" she whispered softly.

"When you accept this Sesshomaru's courtship, this one will tell you," he mused, making her snort in response.

"Really, you still are on this third person's talk. This Azya does not approve," she mocked and he chuckled quietly into her hair, not expecting her to mock him.

"Wait… are you laughing?" she gasped as she shifted onto her knees in front of him, her eyes wide. "Holy Hell, I broke the ruthless Western Lord…"

"It is hard to keep one's composure around a woman like you, Azya," he smirked at her, seeing her face flush.

"No, put it back," she gasped, both of her hands coming up to cover his mouth. "Don't do that."

"Do what?" he teased as he waved her hands away.

"All of this human emotion shit," she snapped as she brought her hands back to his mouth. "None of this smirking or laughing, the Western Lord does not tease humans nor does he ask for a human to enter an engagement. It is not normal, none of this is Sessh, it's not okay."

"And yet you still sleep with your pack mate."

"I have been sick due to the migraine…"

"You never complained before the migraine either."

"That's because you didn't act like this. What happened…? What changed…?"

"Azya," he interrupted, his voice gentle as he pulled her hands away from his mouth gently and they fell down to his shoulders. His hand came up to touch the edge of her chin and she looked at him confused. "You did this and there is no regrets concerning you."

* * *

"No…"

His lips pressed against hers as he pulled her against him and she gasped in surprise. She gripped his haori as she felt her heart pound against her chest as his arm came around her waist and held her tightly against his chest. A whimper escaped her as her eyes closed on their own as she felt his teeth tug on her lower lip and she could feel several sharp edges threaten to pierce her lip. His hand slid up the center of her back and as all sense started to fade, she slid her hands into his hair and pulled him closer. She felt his chest rumble against hers as he growled against her lips.

"No…" Azya pulled back some as she gasped for air and rested her forehead against his and tried to slow her breathing. "We can't… We can't do this… Why do you torment me so…?"

"Accept this one's courtship," Sesshomaru growled gently.

"Sessh…"Azya pushed away from him and he let her go as she stood up. "I can't accept you… I 'm sorry but I am not ready for this… I don't know if I would ever be ready… you have to give me time to think about all this and time to adjust. You can't just go doing things like this and expect me to handle it normally. Yes, I react to everything you do, but it is not the time or place for any of this."

"Azya, are you feeling better?" Rin's voice stopped her from talking any more as she looked over to see the child sitting up from under the furs she usually slept in and yawned.

"Yes, dearest Rin, the worst is over. I am much better," Azya smiled as she gave Sesshomaru a last glance before going over to the child as she stretched. "What shall we do for breakfast?"

"There are a lot of fish in the river," Rin exclaimed happily as Jaken woke and got to his feet. "Jaken, have you ever caught a fish?"

"You silly child, what kind of question is that?" Jaken huffed.

"A logically one, little imp," Azya grinned. "Have you fished from a river with no weapon?"

"Uh… well, no…"

"Then why don't you amuse Rin and myself and let her teach you?" Azya spoke as she knelt by the river and parted her two-toned hair to braid the maroon strands.

"Yay," Rin cheered as she jumped into the water, scattering several fish as Jaken slid into the water, the calf length water that went up to Rin went to his waist as he fished around in the water.

Azya smiled as she watched the two play in the river, Rin directing Jaken in different directions as the fish swam around them. She felt a foreign energy nearing as Sesshomaru started to walk down the path and frowned, but remained with the rest of the pack in case it was a threat. Soon, Rin and Jaken caught almost a dozen fish and tied them up on several strings as they came out of the river.

"My lord, Sesshomaru?" Jaken called out as he looked around.

"He went to approach an incoming threat," Azya spoke as she pointed down the path.

"Don't leave me again, Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken wailed as he dashed down the path.

"Come Rin, let us follow," Azya spoke as she stood, Ah-Un already padding after the wailing imp. Azya heard movement behind her as Rin ran forward and felt something collide with the back of her head.


	24. Chapter 24

"Who's this strange-looking young girl?" an unfamiliar voice spoke, her energy familiar, rousing Azya from the darkness and tried to keep herself silent as she focused on her senses without opening her eyes and hoped she could pretend to whoever it was who knocked her out think that she was still unconscious.

"Seems like she's Inuyasha's wench," another female voice spoke.

"Inuyasha?" the first woman spoke. "The younger son of the old mutt?"

"Yeah. He's alive. Isn't that a surprise?" a third woman exclaimed.

"She seemed like good bait, so we decided to bring her along," the second spoke as Azya heard a struggling.

"Tell me what you want. What are you going to do to Inuyasha?" Kagome's voice reached her and she gasped. "Azya?"

"Kagome, where are we?" Azya spoke, leaving her eyes shut as she tried to move and was only successful in rolling off her stomach and onto her side against a stone wall.

"Who is this one?" the third asked curiously.

"Seems like we had the same idea, this one was with the one I went after," the first spoke. "A blind human with that dog, does not seem believable."

"As to your question, we're going to kill him," the third spoke, making Kagome gasp.

"What do you think Toran?" the second woman spoke.

"I don't need bait for Sesshomaru. He'll definitely come, but this blind human happed to catch my interest as she bears the mark of those mutts."

"A mating mark?" the second woman scoffed.

"No, I do not think so."

"Kagome!" a voice from somewhere above them called out and Azya sensed three wolf youkai above them.

"Kouga!" Kagome called out, happily.

"I'm here to save you."

"You're not invited to this little party, wolf boy," the second woman yelled before Azya sensed a fire crackling as the second woman's energy spiked as Azya got picked up and felt her captors start to run.

"What happened to you Azya?" Kagome gasped nearby.

"I don't know, my young child was fishing and Sesshomaru had walked off to intercept an energy nearby, I was in the back as we caught up and then woke here. God, he is going to be so angry at me. He worked so hard in training me and then I get caught off guard," Azya snapped as she kicked at her captor but didn't hit anything.

"Feisty little bitch," a male voice laughed.

"You are going to regret this," Azya sneered before she felt herself get thrown to the ground, her arms still bound behind her up to her elbows.

"Stay in there and don't do anything foolish," the first woman spoke as Azya felt Kagome beside her.

"Let us out!" Kagome cried as she hit something wooden.

"Kagome, are you bound?" Azya grunted as she managed to get to her knees.

"There is somebody in here with us," Kagome gasped as she came behind her and started working at the ropes.

"I'm more worried about Sesshomaru. I can feel his energy and he is not happy," Azya muttered as her bindings broke and opened her eyes to see the bright red welts in the darkness. "That's going to bruise."

"Your eyes!"

"Shush," Azya snapped as she covered the girl's mouth. "You shouldn't be wearing such revealing clothing in this era, Kagome. One might mistake you for belonging to a whore house."

"Don't be so mean. How did this happen?"

"I bear the mark of the Western Inu Clan. How do you think I was able to heal so quickly? This mark has healed me, but don't breathe a word of my sight to these kidnappers. It may be the only advantage I get…"

"Miroku! Sango!" Kagome spoke suddenly and Azya closed her eyes as the door to the cage opened and two familiar energies landed beside her.

"You and your friends will be sacrificed and offered to our master," the male who had been with their kidnappers spoke. "You will give us your jewel shards and your lives! And our master will be resurrected!"

"Your friends? This one breaths. If they are planning on sacrificing us, then there may be time to either escape or to be rescued… So…" Azya spoke as Kagome checked on the woman and felt something against her backside and punched the male who proceeded to feel her up. "This is why his energy is so lecherous…"

"What a pretty woman," the monk spoke. "Would you consider bearing my children?"

"Sesshomaru would kill you first," Azya hissed as she stood up and backed away.

"Sango!" Miroku spoke suddenly and turned to the unconscious woman who woke as he sat.

"Where are we?" Sango asked as she sat up.

"Yeah…"

"Thank goodness you're both finally awake!" Kagome sighed happily.

"Kagome!" Both humans called as Azya felt them move as she kicked off the black shoes Sesshomaru had gotten her once her sight had returned.

"I'm glad you are alright!" Sango spoke happily.

"So, is this some kind of prison cell they've put us in?"

"No," Azya snarled sarcastically. "It's free lodging with all the food and woman you could ask for."

"Really?!" the monk spoke happily as he got to his feet.

"No, are you fucking stupid?" Azya snapped. "Mention of beautiful woman and you lose all sense on where you are."

"Azya, that's not nice."

"I've been captured, my head hurts and a monk can only think about something that is not the most important. We are prisoners that our enemies plan to sacrifice for their master. Get it together before I decide I don't like you long enough to get out of here."

"I see… wait, did you say Sesshomaru?"

"My companion is not happy," Azya sighed as she felt Sesshomaru's energy flare. "But he is coming."

"Help is coming?" one of the prisoners spoke.

"Definitely. I can assure you that the person coming to save us is much stronger than those cats are," Kagome spoke happily.

"Tell me something Kagome," Azya frowned as she opened her eyes to stare at the miko. "Do you know anything about defending yourself or do you let everyone in your pack constantly save and protect you?"

"I know how to use a bow and arrow…"

"My alpha most certainly won't be happy about this situation," Azya sighed as she sat down in a corner.

"Why do you travel with such a ruthless youkai?" Miroku asked and Azya sighed as she closed her eyes.

"I am from Kagome's home. There was an accident and I was brought here. Sesshomaru saved my life and even by the power of this mark I bear, my sight that I thought was lost to me, returned. He is my companion, my protector, and my alpha. He has cared for me and has taught me. I learned to move and fight without my sight before it returned and there is a debt there that I would never be able to repay… Rin… oh no… I hope she is okay. I don't feel her energy anywhere nearby. There is fighting outside these walls."

"How can you tell?" Sango asked.

"I was taught to feel the energy of life forces and plant life around me before my sight returned. There is many youkai outside these walls and one life force is ginormous in size, but Sesshomaru is closest…" Azya spoke as she felt a rumbling before the walls disappeared. She glanced around and gasped seeing a large youkai, its skin almost mummy like, dried and withered. A group of feline gathered nearby and Sesshomaru was on the far side of the opening.

"What's this?" Miroku gasped.

"It's the panther tribe," Sango gasped.

"What's going on here?" Kagome asked.

"Kagome!" Azya heard the voice of the wolf that she had heard earlier and saw a black haired youkai in wolf pelts in the air before hitting a barrier. She turned back to face Sesshomaru and saw his eyes widen as he saw her.

"As if fools like you could break the great one's barrier," the first voice spoke of the woman who had taken her and saw a woman with pale blue hair.

"Stick round and join us for dinner. We are having sacrificial lamb," the red haired one laughed.

"Find yourself another meal," Miroku snapped as he grabbed the beads off his hand but then collapsed to his knees and Azya frowned as Sango came to him. Azya focused on the hand that was reaching towards them from the ginormous mummified youkai.

"Kagome!" Azya heard Inuyasha's voice and frowned seeing the brash half-breed, sword over his head with no technique.

"This is the one who took Sesshomaru's arm," Azya sneered, "and you remain with him, Kagome? He is but a child and does not know any structure."

"I don't think you should be worrying about his fighting stance right now," Kagome muttered as Inuyasha swung the red blade, disrupting the barrier.

"Oh, the mutt learned new tricks," Azya gasped before taking advantage of the fact that the large youkai was distracted and dashed behind its pedestal and reached Sesshomaru. "I was careless and got caught by surprise."

"You are safe now, woman," Sesshomaru spoke as he brought his arm around her and pulled her behind him.

"Where is the rest of our pack?"

"This Sesshomaru left Rin behind with Ah-Un. Jaken is somewhere around here."

"Thank goodness, I got worried that something happened."

"Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken's voice reached them and Azya chuckled.

"Speaking of which," Azya sighed.

"I have searched everywhere for you! Inuyasha has surprised me. When did he become so powerful and learn to wield the Tessaiga like that?" Jaken asked as Azya watched both the half-breed and wolf crowd Kagome.

"Seriously, has she no shame? Does she not realize how things work in this world?" Azya huffed.

"Give me blood!" the ginormous youkai yelled and Azya watched as the wolf pull Kagome out of the way before his palm landed on Inuyasha.

"He really is brash," Azya muttered as she saw Inuyasha push back the youkai's palm before slicing it off. She watched as the prisoners started to follow Kagome as they worked through the lesser youkai. Inuyasha jumped into the air and hit his sword against the ginormous youkai's skull, pushing him backwards until he collapsed.

"Master!" Azya heard several of the panther youkai call out.

"Give me blood… and a soul!" the great beast groaned.

"Sesshomaru?" Azya asked as she saw the distracted look on his face as he watched his brother fight against the four humanoid panthers.

He drew his sword as Inuyasha got pinned down and Azya saw energy shoot out from the end of Tokijin. He started walking forward and Azya followed, cautiously as the light faded and she saw everyone on their backs, even Inuyasha. Sesshomaru stopped before the half-breed and she stopped to his right a couple paces as he managed to sit up.

"I told you not to interrupt," Inuyasha snapped.

"Stay there where you are. These panther demons belong to me," Sesshomaru growled and Azya frowned.

"Not this time. You're the one who'll have to back down," Inuyasha bit back as he got to his feet.

"Enough!" Sesshomaru snapped as he lunged forward with his sword aimed at the half-breed.

"Really?" Azya huffed as she crouched down by Jaken. "Okay, imp, what did I miss?"

"Lord Sesshomaru was at war with these panther youkai 50 years ago, and his father before that many years ago," Jaken summed up.

"So it is a vendetta and he's upset that the half-breed interferes," Azya groaned. "Will you both stop it?! Inuyasha's friend got kidnapped as well Sesshomaru, he has his own right to be here right now!"

"I don't need any help from you," Sesshomaru growled at Inuyasha and Azya glanced up as the ginormous youkai started to sit up.

"This isn't good," Azya muttered as the beast slashed down at his own allies, killing three of the four.

"He devoured his own kin so that he could revive himself," Inuyasha gasped as they finally focused on the threat.

"How can a being be so large?" Azya gasped as she watched as the youkai regenerated its fur and skin.

"You two, sons of the dog general… you're next," the beast growled. "Dogs! You will now feel the full extent of my wrath!"

"Oh…" Azya felt dizzy as she fell onto her butt besides Jaken.

"Time to wake up from your pipe dreams. Maybe my sword can help you," Inuyasha spoke and the beast brought his claw down towards Inuyasha as Sesshomaru jumped into the air and swung Tokijin, releasing energy at its head.

"Out of my way! Wind scar!" Inuyasha called and a large blast engulfed the beast. "Dead on."

"No such luck," the beast chuckled.

"You've got the strength to fight my old man, I'll give you that much. You won't get past me, though."

"Don't be so sure, Inuyasha," Jaken called. "He's become more powerful than Ryukotsusei. He has the power of the sacred jewel shards now."

The giant beast shot his claws out at Inuyasha and Azya watched as Inuyasha deflected them before the other clawed hand shot lightning out at the two brothers and they both dodged. As the attacks continued, she started to move backwards as one of the attacks got close to her and Jaken. She watched as Sesshomaru jumped into the air, only to get slapped backwards.

"Sesshomaru!" Azya cried and he managed to recover before he hit the ground and landed beside her in a crouch. "Are you okay?"

"Lord Sesshomaru! My lord, what is it?" Jaken cried as he came over to them.

"Curse him," Sesshomaru growled, his voice full of a malice that she had never heard before and felt a hint of fear course through her as she watched his eyes bleed red.

His growling continued as he stood, sheathing his sword. Azya felt his energy spike immensely and felt the air around her increase in pressure as she saw a shift begin in his markings. He stopped after a second as she felt a pulse from the Tenseiga and the red in his eyes faded.

"The Tenseiga. You wish to be drawn?" Sesshomaru frowned, all malice in his energy gone and he glanced at her. "Woman?"

"I…" Azya felt her words fade as a chill ran through her body.

He offered his hand to her and she took it, but did not feel a warmth as she usually would as he helped her get to her feet. He ran forward and jumped into the air, his hand on the Tenseiga and drew it as he flew past the great panther. As he landed on the other side of the courtyard, he sheathed the sword of healing.

"You can't harm me with that useless sword. Its blade is far too dull," the beast growled and as he reached for Sesshomaru a light emanated from his body. "My power. What's happening? I'm losing my power…"

"You finish him off with the Tessaiga," Sesshomaru spoke as he walked passed Inuyasha as if he didn't do anything. Inuyasha scoffed but did was he was told and unleashed the wind scar, downing the beast. He came to her and pulled her into his arm, even though she flinched at his touch as he jumped into his arm. "Speak your thoughts, woman."

"What did I feel back there…" she whispered quietly, not moving to look at him.

"You fear this Sesshomaru?"

"There… was a malice I have never felt… and you started to change…"

"This one has another form, the true form of this one's inner youkai."

"You almost lost yourself to your inner youkai…?"

"Hn."

"Is that why that panther was so large?"

"That was his true form, correct."

"So does that mean your true form is that large?"

"Indeed."

"So if you do lose all control… I should run…"

"Azya," he spoke gently and she glanced up at him and saw the softness in his eyes. "This one's inner beast chose you before myself, it would never harm you if by chance this Sesshomaru lost control. You need not fear this Sesshomaru. Compose yourself, we are about to reach Rin."

"Will we be able to talk about this more later?"

"If it helps you, understand and gain comfort to talk about it, yes," he spoke as he kissed her brow before descending to the ground where Rin sat against Ah-Un, singing to herself. He let Azya down and she hurried over to the child and hugged her. "Let's go."

"Okay," Rin called happily before Azya got onto Ah-Un's back. "Are you okay Azya? Rin worried when you disappeared."

"I am well, dearest Rin, just tired," Azya smiled as Rin grabbed Ah-Un's reigns and followed after the Daiyoukai ahead of them.


	25. Chapter 25

Azya opened her eyes as Rin rolled away from her under the pelts and stared at the starry night above them. Jaken was asleep, snoring beside Ah-Un and as she focused on Sesshomaru's energy, she felt the quiet hum of when he slept. Glancing over to where he was nearby, he was leaning against a tree, his right leg up to support his arm and she noticed that his lips were slightly parted as he slept. She slid out of from under the pelts carefully, watching the child for any signs of waking up and got to her feet. The two-headed dragon lifted their heads to watch as she silently walked over to him to grab her bag, knowing there was a hot spring nearby.

She needed to be able to think and time alone to process everything that had happened. It had been a week since the incident and she hadn't been left alone for even a moment. Rin worried about her being kidnapped again while Sesshomaru hovered due to her reaction to seeing him almost lose control, but Rin never stayed more than a couple feet from her, there hadn't been a chance to talk as they traveled. She glanced at her pack before closing her eyes and focused on the woods around her since it was dark as she made her way to the spring.

When she reached the spring, she opened her eyes as she sat her bag down beside her near the water's edge. Stripping down to her underwear, she stepped into the steamy water and waded over to where a rock protruded and leaned against it as she slid down so that the water went to her shoulders. She felt the energy levels of her pack mates and felt Sesshomaru's shift as if he was starting to awake up. Letting out a sigh as she felt his energy moving towards her, she undid her braid and ran her fingers through the maroon locks as she opened her eyes to watch her hovering companion come into view and sit against a tree.

"Your hovering is getting annoying," Azya muttered, letting her eyes close as her body relaxed.

"You left without a word," his voice quiet.

"You were asleep. I had hoped I would get more time alone," Azya shrugged. "I don't do well when people hover like what you and Rin have been doing."

"And if you had been taken again when none were aware of your location?"

"Yeah, I know, I wasn't thinking. I just needed a few minutes to be able to breathe," she sighed as she opened her eyes to stare at her palms as they sat just below the water's surface. "I don't even know what to think, Sessh. Even though you told me what happened, I don't understand it. It doesn't make sense how one could be able to change forms and size. I come from a time where none of this exists in facts, it's just myths and legends of old. To be experiencing so much..."

"You have avoided this Sesshomaru. You flinch away and will not look at this one."

"What do you want me to do? I have been traveling with you for a full season now and this was the first time I saw you like that. I didn't even know that a youkai could change forms. I thought that youkai were either humanoid or did not have a humanoid form."

"That is how it is for many. To have the ability to change forms shows one's power and strength."

"If... if I asked... would you show me your true form...?" Azya asked, hesitantly.

"And increase your current distress and fear? No."

"I have seen your eyes turn red before but that situation was completely different compared to this one. At your home, I expected your anger and hurt because it was my fault, but this...? To feel such anger and malice radiate from your energy… In all my time in this world, I have never felt such emotion from anyone... Both you and your inner youkai's emotions were so strong in your desire to kill…"

"Come here," Sesshomaru spoke and Azya only shook her head. "Woman, how can you ask to see this one's true form when you cannot bear being touched or to be near this Sesshomaru?"

"I... don't know," Azya whispered weakly as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Azya," he growled gently and she looked at him, finally meeting his gaze. "Do you think that this Sesshomaru would harm you?"

"You are physically unable to..." She saw one of his eyebrows raise and she sighed, shaking her head again, knowing that at this point in their time together, he would not hurt her even if the mark faded.

She stood up and came to the shore, knowing that she did not have a logical excuse anymore to avoid him. She knew that his malice had been directed to the panther king for being able to deflect him like he had as well as her capture by his kin. She pulled a towel out of her bag and wrapped it around her before walking over to Sesshomaru and sat in his lap, resting her legs over his left leg as it rested on the ground. His arm came around her and held her close as she curled up against him, his pelt shifting against her back, making her shiver at the light movements. She let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding as the warmth she usually felt from him surrounded her, his energy humming gently. She brought her arm that was against him around his waist as she pulled herself closer and buried her face in his clothing. She no longer felt the chill in her body towards him as his pelt covered her damp body.

"Hn."

"I'm sorry," Azya whispered against his chest.

"You have nothing to apologize for, woman," he spoke gently, bringing his hand up to brush her damp hair out of her face as he pushed a little, forcing her to tilt her head back to look at him. "Accept this one's courtship, Azya. This Sesshomaru won't do more than you are comfortable with until you were ready."

"Sessh..." Azya frowned. "Why are you so insistent on this?"

"Because this Sesshomaru cares for you," he whispered. "I wish you to be more than my pack mate and the alpha female of my pack."

"You haven't given me time to properly think about any of this Sesshomaru," Azya sighed as she looked down at where her hand sat on his chest, her fingers gripping the satin cloth. "Would you still be this persistent if my sight had not returned? Would you have even asked if you didn't smell whatever it was that day that made you so sexually frustrated?"

"This Sesshomaru possibly would have given it more time, but yes, this Sesshomaru would have asked. The scent that caused this one's frustrations as you put it was the scent of your arousal and with your natural scent, it was overwhelming," he growled gently as he wrapped his hand around her waist again and held her close.

"You still won't tell me what you gain from my scent, will you?"

"You know the condition for that answer."

"You're so infuriating," Azya muttered as she wiggled out of his lap and set her towel on her bag before stepping back into the water.

"Woman."

"I came out here to relax because we stopped near this hot spring, not to curl up in your lap like some cat, half-dressed."

"No feline curls up against this Sesshomaru."

"It's a figure of speech. Besides, things happen when clothes are missing and you would probably lose control and go on a murder rampage this time," Azya sighed as she got to the deeper section of the spring, dove under and swam to the far side using her senses to navigate through the water so she didn't hit anything.


	26. Chapter 26

I own nothing from Inuyasha.

Some mature content this chapter.

Please enjoy and review.

* * *

As she came up for air near the opposite side of spring, she felt ripples in the water behind her and glanced back to see Sesshomaru in the water, his clothing on top of her bag and she sighed. He sat against several boulders and she looked away, realizing that he wasn't in very deep water as the water barely covered the parts she wasn't ready to see. There would be no reprieve from the youkai that cared for her.

"Why can't I be left alone to even relax and bathe?" Azya snapped quietly. "How do you expect me to think anything through when you do this?"

"There is far too many youkai outside this Sesshomaru's barrier for that to be acceptable."

"That may be, but why are you here in the water," Azya frowned as she sat against the edge of the spring and watched the water ripple low around his waist and thighs, strands of long silver hair against his chest. She closed her eyes as she felt a warmth that wasn't the water warm her body. "You don't have to hover that close."

"You do not tell this Sesshomaru what to do," he spoke simply as he closed his eyes.

"I think that I will return back to camp," Azya spoke after she forced the warmth away, knowing that seeing almost all his bare body had caused her problems.

She stood and moved back to the shore beside him, but did her best to be out of his reach so he didn't grab her. She felt something in front of her move as she felt the water around her knees and opened her eyes to see Sesshomaru's pelt as it wrapped around her waist and literally pulled her out of the water and into Sesshomaru's grasp, somehow straddling him again. She felt her stomach twist into knots as she felt something twitch against her inner thigh and she glared at the youkai who continued to torment her as his arm came around her waist.

"That is cheap," Azya muttered as she watched him open his amber eyes and a smirk graced his lips. "Maybe you need to go to a brothel and take care of your frustrations."

"Disgusting thought. Whores who lay with any and every being that pays," he growled and she flinched as his fingers dug into her hip slightly.

"Careful," Azya gasped as she tried to pry his fingers away. "Your claws are sharp…"

"Don't think that this Sesshomaru would be so low when we already have chosen you."

"You can't keep pulling me into your lap like this. Not only does it make everything difficult, but it shows your lack of control."

"Then you should not make it equally difficult," he growled as his hand slid up her back and pulled her body against his. Your arousal makes it difficult to keep control."

"I cannot control that," Azya whined as she felt him bury his face against her neck. "If you would give me space and not go around without your clothes and continue to manhandle me, this would not happen. Why are you so insistent, especially when you trap me in the water and do this?"

"Because this Sesshomaru desires you," he whispered and she felt him brush his nose against her neck up to her ear. "Even now, with your constant refusals even though your body desires this, it makes this Sesshomaru desire you more."

"But why me, Sessh? I am human," she whimpered as she felt his fangs nibble on her earlobe.

"Azya, why do you ask questions that have already been answered?"

"Maybe because it is hard to believe that you would choose someone like me. If not for this mark on my chest, I know that I wouldn't even be here at all. I know that from what your sire told me before I came to your world, you being ruthless and cold, that if I did not have this mark when we came around, you would have killed me. So saying that even if I didn't have this mark, that you would chose me, is an excuse and a lie. I doubt that even you would harm an innocent child like Rin, so maybe she would still have joined your pack if Inu no Taisho hadn't saved me…"

"We cannot change what has happened or what could have happened. You are here now and you have brought out many things that this Sesshomaru has never felt before," he growled as she felt his fingers mess with the back strap of her bra before she felt the fabric become lose.

"No…" Azya wrapped an arm around her chest as the straps slid off her shoulders. "How'd you even know how to unhook that…?"

"You have dressed yourself enough times around this Sesshomaru to have figured out this strange garment," he growled and she gasped as she felt his warm tongue trace the shell of her ear before moving down her neck.

"Sessh, stop this," Azya whimpered as her eyes closed and she felt her body become weak in his lap. "This isn't right…"

"This Sesshomaru is merely touching."

"I can't do this… you are molesting and you said… that you wouldn't… stoop that low…" Azya groaned as she felt him bite the junction of her neck softly, but she knew that the wrong moves and he would be able to draw blood. "It is unwanted…"

"Then why do you not fight back?"

"Because I am not strong enough to fight you," Azya whispered, honestly knowing that her will to get out of this situation was slowly crumbing.

She felt his chest rumble as he growled against her neck and felt the vibrations through her whole body as it became harder to breathe normally as she felt her heart in her throat where his lips were. His claws gently ran across her back and down to her waist and she shivered as she felt his sharp nails trace along the edge of her underwear as his lips moved down her collarbone, following the line of her undone bra before pressing against the mark on her sternum. She wrapped her right arm around his head gently, but kept her other around her chest to keep her bra from falling away completely as she buried her nose into his silky hair. Air escaped her as she felt his hand slid down and grab her ass, pulling her closer and in the movement, his length rubbed across her clothed core.

"Sessh…"

"Lavender and Cedarwood." His voice was quiet and muffled, buried in her chest, but she heard him as she felt his tongue against her sternum as he licked up the center of her body to her neck.

"But I didn't…"

She gasped as she felt his fingers brush over her clothed core, having been distracted by his tongue and knew that he could tell how aroused she was by touch as well as smell. He moved her underwear to the side and a moan escaped her as she felt him slide a finger into her core. She grabbed his hand with both hands and tried to remove him, but her hands came in contact with his length as it pressed against her backside since she was sitting more on his stomach. A groan escaped her tormentor at the contact and she felt his lips moving along the edge of her jaw as a second finger joined the first.

Azya brought one hand to Sesshomaru and slid her hand into his hair and felt his lips press against hers as his fingers moved inside of her. He nibbled her lip as he let out another groan and she licked his lips, her resolve gone, as her other hand ran up and down his large length, knowing that he was well-endowed in both length and thickness. His tongue entered her mouth as she tasted him and fought back for dominance, but lost when he slid another finger into her, stretching her. She let out a breathy gasp at the action and he swallowed her moan as he pumped his fingers inside of her, but she could also feel how careful he was as he moved inside of her.

A pressure built up inside of her core and all sound disappeared and her head fell back as she rode her orgasm. His fingers slid out of her as her senses came back to her and she opened her eyes to stare at Sesshomaru as he licked her juices off his fingers, his lustful eyes watching her as he did. She wriggled her toes to get the feeling back as she had a hard time feeling anything below her waist and watched him smirk as he continued to lick his fingers slowly.

"You don't play fair," Azya muttered weakly.

"This Sesshomaru was never taught to play fair," he growled gently as he lowered his hand and rested it on her thigh. "You can trust me to never hurt you or abuse you like those in your past. This isn't just a onetime deal, nor will it be just a way to release. This Sesshomaru wants you to remain by this one's side, to bear our pups when the time comes, to live forever with this Sesshomaru."

"But I am human… Forever doesn't exist," Azya whispered as she felt tears well up. "Your father lost his human mate…"

"He was foolish and did not bind her to him. If he had, the half-breed would not have lost his mother," Sesshomaru spoke gently as his hand moved up her leg to her hip. "This Sesshomaru would bind you to this one, extending your life to that of my own."

"But that just isn't possible, Sesshomaru," Azya cried. "Human lives do not last that long, maybe to a century but nothing like a youkai's lifespan…"

"In becoming this one's mate, Azya, and being bound, you would no longer remain human. You have already seen the effects that this one's blood has done for you, restoring your sight when the healers thought that it was impossible. There is a scroll of this type of binding within this one's study."

"And you want to mate a human…"

"This Sesshomaru wishes to mate you, Azya, not some random youkai who wishes only to have this one's title. You did not see this Sesshomaru for a high lord and desire only wealth and a high position."

"If I had wanted wealth and position, I would have stayed with my parents. I love this world and has been amazing to not have such expectations on my shoulders. I was scared the day I thought I was going to die and I blame your sire because if he hadn't been in my mind, I wouldn't have been so distracted. Or maybe he knew that it would have happened either way. He had offered me something that I could have only dreamed of. I figured that either he spoke truth or I was dead anyway, but then I woke up on you." Azya looked down at the blue crescent moon that sat on her sternum and covered it with both hands as tears fell down her cheeks. "You have done so much for me… It is more than I have ever deserved… How can I accept something like that?"

"Azya," his hand came to hers and pulled them away from the mark before she felt his lips press against the mark. "This one's sire chose to save you. I have told you once before that concerning you, there are no regrets."

"Sessh…?" She touched his cheek and he lifted his head to be able to look at her and she smiled at him, despite her tears. "Thank you for being you. To your question that I keep making you repeat over and over, yes."

"Hn."

"I told you that things happen when clothes are missing…" Azya chuckled at his response and he gave her traditional smirk, his still hard length twitching against her butt.

"And I am not done," he grinned, flashing his fanged teeth as she noticed his hand glow green.

"I don't like that look…" Azya frowned and he brought his glowing hand to her waist. She looked down and narrowed her eyes as her underwear seemed to melt before he removed the rest of it. "Did you really just use your poison to destroy my underwear? You couldn't just ask…?"

"Azya," he growled as his arm came around her waist and lifted her up some and she gasped feeling him positioned at her entrance, his eyes asking.

"Hn," Azya mimicking and he pulled her back into his lap as he filled her completely.

Her eyes rolled back into her head as the pain and pleasure equally radiated through her as Sesshomaru let out a growl of his own. A shaky breath escaped her lips as she adjusted to Sesshomaru's large size and she felt him pull her bra away before his lips closed around her right nipple as his hand came up to tease the other. She rocked her hips slowly as most of the pain faded and felt him stop as she distracted him from being able to distract her. She brought her hands to his chest, feeling the contours of his muscles under her palms. He leaned back as he brought his hand to her waist and she rocked her hips again and saw a light red hue flicker in his eyes.

"Do I test you control that much?" Azya whispered as a moan threatened to escape her lips.

"You have no idea," he growled as suddenly her back was against a large boulder in the deeper water.

Azya gasped as he pulled out almost all the way before thrusting back into her, his hand gripping her butt. He set a rough steady pace as she wrapped her legs around his waist and he groaned. He bent over and started to kiss and nibble on her neck and she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer as she started to meet his thrusts now that she had leverage. He started to thrust into her harder and faster, making her have to try harder to not cry out in her pleasure, knowing that there were not that far from camp, or in pain as her back scraped against the rock under her.

"Sessh…" Azya gasped as she felt the pressure build up in her.

"Don't fight it," he growled against her neck and the vibrations shook through her as she came around him as he continued to thrust into her.

As she felt herself start to come down from her orgasm, he pulled out of her and turned her around so she faced the rock and thrust back into her from behind. A moan escaped her lips at the new position as he forced her to lean forward and she brought her hands to the rock to support herself as she moved against him at the new pace. His hand covered her right hand on the rock as she heard his breaths start to get ragged and his growling increased.

Pressure within her started to build again as his pace became even faster and unsteady. At this point, she could only gasp since she could no longer control her breaths and could feel her legs ready to give out. Her pressure exploded and her knees buckled, but he did not miss a thrust as he wrapped his arm around her waist , supporting her as a snarl escaped him as he thrust into her as deep as he could and came with her.

She felt as if he was getting larger inside of her and took a shaky breath as she came down from her orgasm and could feel her legs. She turned her head to look at Sesshomaru as he lowered over her, breathing hard but was not moving, his arm tight around her waist to keep her from pulling away. He opened his eyes and she saw the red fade away as blood fell from his lips.

"Sessh…?" Azya asked, her voice weak.

"This Sesshomaru must apologize for loosing control," he spoke, his voice rough. "It may be a little while before we can separate…"

"What?" Azya frowned, surprised at the odd statement.

"My inner youkai tied us inside you," he muttered apologetically.

"Oh…" Azya chuckled before gasping as he moved, keeping her with him as he turned and sat in the water against the boulder, her in his lap. "That makes sense though, you are an inyoukai… Does this mean we're mated?"

"No. Mating occurs when blood is shared from both at the peak of orgasm. You accepted this one's courtship and this Sesshomaru could not stay in control. You did not know how mating occurs and with the mark you bear, this Sesshomaru could not fully claim you as our intended."

"Is that why you told me to not bite down when you shared your blood?"

"If you had, you would have claimed this Sesshomaru as your intended."

"So claiming and mating are two different processes?"

"Yes."

Azya leaned against Sesshomaru's chest and turned her head up as he looked down at her and she licked at the blood on his chin. He claimed her lips in a soft kiss and she could taste more blood. She licked his lips and felt two cuts on the inside of his lip.

"Why'd you bite your lip?"

"This Sesshomaru does not know," he mused as she felt the pressure of him tied inside of her start to fade.

Azya shifted her hips and felt him pull out of her with a quiet growl as he kissed her forehead. She stood and waded to the shore and found her bra intact but sighed as she saw the burnt remains of her underwear. She grabbed her towel as she stepped out of the water and dried off before pulling a lace bra and underwear out of her bag, both a dark blue and slid them on before pulling on the dark blue and silver kimono that had been made and went to her thighs. He stepped out of the water beside her and dressed quickly before waiting for her.

"I'm going to need to return to my world now that you destroyed those," Azya muttered as she tucked her old clothes into the bag, "and get more if you keep destroying them."

"No guarantee that this Sesshomaru will be able to wait long enough for them to be removed. You do not need them," he spoke simply and she sighed as she felt his aura flare slightly. Ah-Un came into view and nuzzled Azya. "This Sesshomaru will collect you in three days after Ah-Un takes you to the well."

"He isn't staying this time?"

"If the half-breed's pack is not there, humans become uneasy. Do not do anything rash," he spoke as he held her chin to make her look at him. "If this Sesshomaru is not there by the third sunset, return to your world until this Sesshomaru comes."

"Why would you be late?"

"This Sesshomaru will continue tracking down the vile half-breed Naraku."

"Be safe then, my future mate," Azya smiled as he kissed her forehead before helping her onto Ah-Un's back.


	27. Chapter 27

Sesshomaru landed beside the well and took in the scents around him. He could faintly smell the half-breed and the miko from weeks before but Azya's was the most recent smell. It had been almost half a lunar cycle since he let his mate-to-be return to her world due to him dealing with the vile Naraku. The vile half-breed had been able to run away due to Inuyasha interfering when Naraku had taken Rin hostage, tried to absorb his youkai, and then had the gall to try and have the young male demon hunter he could control through the jewel shards kill Rin.

He jumped into the well and ignored the lights as he transported to the future where Azya was waiting. The foul smells of the era assaulted his nose as the lights disappeared and he jumped out of the well and noticed a white piece of paper pinned up against the side of the well house with his name written on the front. He grabbed it and turned it around to see a flap, revealing another piece of paper. He pulled it out and saw a map to direct him to Azya where she was staying instead of intruding on the Miko's family.

Leaving the well house, he jumped high into the air where the foul scents would not continue to destroy his sense of smell and followed the map and her directions to land in a deserted alley besides the building. He could faintly smell Azya but it was old and frowned as he walked up four flights of stairs to the top floor where he reached a door that had the number twelve on it. He knocked on the door and frowned seeing a human male with short black hair and brown eyes in the doorway that stood only a couple inches shorter than him.

"Oh… you must be Sesshomaru," the human male frowned. "Come in."

"Who are you?" Sesshomaru growled as he entered apartment as Azya had once explained and didn't catch onto a fresh scent of his mate-to-be. "Where is Azya?"

"I am Zachery and I was actually was about to go visit her, but now that you're here, I have instructions from Azzie for you," he spoke with a sigh before walking into the kitchen area and picked up a piece of paper and held it out toward him.

"Where is she?"

"From what she has told me about where she's been and about you, best way to explain it is a place where healers take care of people," he muttered. "Now that you're here, we'll have to simplify your way of dressing. Your armor and blades need to stay here and need to conceal the markings on your face… what a shame… a perfection that shouldn't be hidden, but Azzie's orders if you're going to walk around the city."

"Do what needs to be done," Sesshomaru growled as he pulled off his armor, Mokomoko, and weapons and sat them down near the wall. "This Sesshomaru will not wear your world's clothing."

"Luckily, no one is forcing that one," Zachery smiled as he pulled out a small circular plate that fit in the palm of his hand. "This is called foundation, similar to face paint that geisha's would use back in your era, but is flesh tones not white. It will help hide your markings but will blend well with your skin tone. Would you hold your hair out of the way for me?"

"What has she told you?" Sesshomaru frowned as he complied and the human started to put the foundation on his face.

"Everything. She and I have never kept secrets from each other. Sure I was skeptical at first but then she took me to that shrine ten days ago and when she disappeared in that well, I believed everything. You do not have to worry about me making moves on your woman, Sesshomaru, I prefer male lovers. There, that will do for now. Time to go."

"Why is she at a place of healers?" Sesshomaru demanded as he followed the human out of the building and down the stairs.

"She's been sick. Raging fever, unable to keep anything down, body tremors… it got too be so bad that I had to take her to the hospital. She's been worried sick since you never showed up, but I also feel that since she has been with you, her body has adjusted to the pure air verses this polluted city," Zachery sighed as they walked down the street. "We're only a few blocks away, I apologize for the smell. Azzie mentioned that your senses are stronger than our own."

"This Sesshomaru will manage," he muttered as they reached a large white building. "How long has she been here?"

"Seven days now. I've been coming to check on her multiple times each day when I'm not at work. There hasn't been too much improvement and the doctors are not sure what's causing it. They've only been able to give her medicine to keep her comfortable."

"Was she not labeled as dead since her accident?"

"The Kazuki heir was announced dead, but since working with her lawyers after changing her surname, in a sense, she is two different people depending on what name she uses," Zachery shrugged as they entered the building and up several flights of stairs.

"Hey Zach," a woman smiled as she sat at a desk.

"Has she been awake at all?"

"She started screaming out about an hour ago, repeating that same word over and over before having a seizure. We had to sedate her, but she seems to come out of these episodes fairly quick."

"Thanks Rach," Zachery sighed before walking down the hallway.

They entered a room and Sesshomaru felt his heart sink as he stared at his mate-to-be. Her head was propped up by several pillows with a clear mask over her nose and mouth while a tube with a white liquid went in one of her nostrils. Small black string-like lines went to her chest under the white gown she wore from some beeping box above the bed while two more lines were in her arms and a white line covered a finger. Her breaths were shallow and weak and her skin was even paler than the white gown she wore.

"Woman," Sesshomaru frowned as he moved past Zachery to the bed and touched her brow, almost recoiling at the fever of her body.

"Se…ssh…?" her eyes opened halfway, revealing glazed orbs from the sickness as tears escaped.

"Azya." Her eyes closed as she gasped in pain and her body arched off the bed, her hands gripping the sheets as her body started to tremor.

"Azzie," Zachery came around the bed and pushed her body back onto the bed. "Rachel!"

"Another one?!" the woman from earlier came into the room and moved past Sesshomaru to a set of drawers and pulled out a small vial. Sesshomaru watched as she slid the point of the vial into one of the lines that went to her arm and pushed in the fluid. "She's getting worse, Zach. Two seizures in under an hour?"

"Have we heard anything back from the doctors about the tests they have been running?"

"There is are foreign elements in her blood, but due to those elements all tests come back negative," a man entered the room with several papers. "Oh, who's this?"

"This is her fiancée, Dr. Yu. His flight landed only an hour ago," Zach sighed as Azya's tremors stopped and collapsed against the pillows.

"I see. Well, this fever is most likely the cause of her seizures since we have not been able to bring it down and with each passing day, her seizures will most likely become worse," Dr. Yu spoke as Rachel left the room.

"I don't understand too much of the medical field, but would blood of someone healthy help? Azzie was sick some time ago and her fiancée shared blood."

"We only do blood transfusions if someone has lost too much of their own to be able to heal properly. To have a doctor use such odd tactics, do you know which doctor it was?"

"A healer out in the country," Zach spoke as he covered Azya's hand with his own.

"Surely Mr. Taisho can talk for himself."

"Hn."

"He doesn't like to talk unless absolutely necessary and since I know everything, he prefers that I talk," the human shrugged, lifting both arms up as he did, making Sesshomaru want to growl, but knew that since he did not know much of this world, it would be simpler to let the human male do the talking. "My punishment for always trying to make a move on the handsome man, even after asking my best friend to marry him."

"What an odd one," Dr. Yu frowned. "I best be on my way. I'll check in on Azya this evening."

"We'll be here," Zach yawned as the older human male walked out of the room. Zach closed the door to the room as soon as he left and walked over to the set of drawers that had been left open and pulled out an empty vial. "Would your blood heal something like this if it was able to heal her sight?"

"Do what you are planning, human," Sesshomaru frowned and Zachery came to him and pushed up the sleeve of his haori to reveal the bend of his right arm.

"I actually work as a veterinarian so I know quite a bit in the medical field," Zachery smirked at him as he slid the point of the vial into the bend of his arm and pulled on the end, drawing some blood before going back to Azya's side. He slid the point into the same tube that the human female had inserted medicine and injected the blood into the line, turning the fluid pink. "I hope that the same concept applies here as when you had her drink it. I mean, it still gets absorbed into her blood."

"As long as she bears the mark on her chest, it will heal her," Sesshomaru spoke as he walked around the bed and sat on the edge near her waist as Zachery had done earlier. Sesshomaru pulled the edge of the gown down to reveal the top of the blue crescent moon and let out a sigh as he let the gown go. "Her scent is tainted from this place."

"So question for you," Zachery frowned as he scratched the back of his head with a weak laugh. "If she had gained another mark on her body, would that counter that one on her sternum?"

"It is impossible for another to mark her unless willing," Sesshomaru growled quietly.

"Yeah… and if she happened to be drunk?"

"Who has marked my mate?"

"We went to a tattoo artist her first night back, we both were drunk since we had been celebrating her being alive and well. Markings in this world is different than what you are thinking, I hope. No one is claiming her or anything. Humans use ink and a needle to create images of all kinds that remain permanent in the skin. It's a form of art for us," he chuckled weakly before pulling up his sleeve to reveal an image of a cross with a rose at its center and vines wrapped around the cross. "It's just ink."

"You got my mate intoxicated to mark her with art?" Sesshomaru growled as he rose a brow at how bizarre the situation sounded.

"She mentioned that she wanted something that would remind her of you, if that helps my case but I'm sure that you searching her body while she is unconscious is counted as harassment even if she accepted your proposal. It's on her right thigh, just so you know," Zachery smiled as he sat on the chair in the corner by the window.

"Hn."


	28. Chapter 28

"In…sufferable…bastard…" Sesshomaru looked down at his mate-to-be as her breathes became slowly and deeper. Her eyes opened slowly and he noticed that they were no longer glazed over. She looked at him with a smile before she frowned. "Your…markings…?"

"Azzie!" Zachery got out of the chair and came to the bed. "Your stats are leveling out… That little bit worked that quickly?"

"Did you cover up his markings, idiot?"

"Yeah, I had to have an excuse to touch," Zachery chuckled and Azya only sighed. "I can't help the fact that he is absolutely perfect."

"Don't you have a job to go to?"

"Damian was covering for me today. You have had two seizures this afternoon and had one this morning. You had a fever of 104 that refused to break all week. It has been a week since I had to bring you here."

"So it's been half of a cycle since I came here?" Azya frowned as she turned to focus on him. "What happened, Sesshomaru? Why were you gone so long?"

"It is a conversation not fit for here," Sesshomaru spoke as he touched her cheek. "Shall we return to your home for now, woman?"

"I'll go get Rachel, see if we can get her discharged," Zachery spoke before leaving the room.

"Sessh," Azya sat up slowly and touched his cheek. "I worried about you. Usually, you always manage to be early when it comes to things, like returning to your castle or hunting me down when I'm not there."

"This Sesshomaru was delayed due to the vile half-breed," Sesshomaru spoke as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her close. "If this one had come on time, you wouldn't have become sick like this."

"It worked itself out in the end though. It gave me time to catch up with Zach, he really has been my closest friend since I was a child. It's probably for the best that he is gay otherwise you'd possibly try and kill him for being so close," she chuckled as she wrapped her arms around him.

"That still may be a possibility for getting you intoxicated and marking you," he growled quietly.

"Please don't," Azya pulled back as she frowned. "I wasn't drunk enough to not be aware of everything going on. Whenever we would go out, it would start out at the bar and he would pretend to like me so that the women wouldn't hit on him so he could watch the men. We had talked about getting tattoos before and we just happened to be drunk enough to not think too hard on it. It wasn't until the next morning that I realized exactly the full consequence of having someone mark me in a sense…"

"There was no blood shared with this process," Sesshomaru snorted and she smiled at him.

"I was thinking of you when I worked with the girl to design it," she spoke as she pulled the covers down and pulled up her gown to reveal a large design that went from a couple inches below her strange garment down to a couple inches above her knee. A dark blue crescent moon dreamcatcher marked her thigh that had three black detailed feathers attached to the bottom of the dreamcatcher. Near the top of the crescent moon were three pale pink blossoms, similar to how the sakura crests sat on his own clothing. "You always protect me from the bad things, kind of like how a dreamcatcher is thought to protect people from bad dreams. The crescent moon to represent the Western lands while the sakura blossoms I thought would make a good addition because I've noticed your clothing always has triple sakura crests."

"Hn." Sesshomaru smirked at her and kissed her brow so not to move the strange tubes in her. "It is acceptable to this Sesshomaru."

"I'm glad you like it. I hate hospitals," she groaned as she pulled the clear mask off her face and sat it on the bed beside her before touching the tube in her nose. "Seriously, a feeding tube? Oh that's irritating, no wonder I have a bad taste in my mouth."

"Azya, it's good to see you awake and moving around," Rachel entered the room with several papers. "Is Zach right in you wanting to leave?"

"Yes, please. I feel fine and refuse any further care at this hospital," Azya spoke. "Please tell me you're here to remove these lines."

"If you sign these forms, then I can disconnect your leads. I should tell you that the tests we had been running showed some worrying things. There are foreign elements in your blood."

"I know," Azya shrugged as she took the papers and signed her name on several of them. "It's nothing to worry yourselves over. I do appreciate your care for me Rachel while I was sick. I don't remember too much from the fever, but I do remember your name almost every day."

"It was a favor for Zach. He helped me out a few months ago and this helped me get even," Rachel smiled as she removed the two tubes from her arms and bandaged them as they bled before working on the tube in her nose and pulled near two feet out before it came out completely. "I'll alert Dr. Yu that you chose to leave, fully informed of your condition."

"Oh, good, I'm just on time," Zach came into the room with a bag. "I brought you some clothes since the good nurses cut off all the old ones when I brought you."

"Are you going to hold that over my head too, Zach?"

"It's fine, it was time I got Azzie a new outfit anyway. Thanks Rach," Zach smiled as he kissed her cheek before she left the room.

"What annoying outfit do you have planned this time?" Azya sighed as she moved so she was sitting on the edge of her bed and Sesshomaru frowned seeing her bare back as the white gown did nothing except cover her front.

"Let's be honest, sweetie, anything is better than that gown."

"True, hand it over."

Zachery placed the bag beside her with a smirk before sitting on the chair by the window and closed his eyes. Azya worked through the bag and pulled a pair of her strange bottoms on that were purple before pulling off the gown and put on the garment that contained her breasts. She pulled a single piece of fabric that was a lavender color and pulled it on revealing a single slit across her right thigh to reveal her tattoo.

"Eh, it's alright," Azya frowned as she ran her fingers through her hair and pulled it all back into a pair of chopsticks.

"I will find a style you like eventually," Zach smiled as he opened his eyes. "Shall we go get some real food before going home?"

"We should be getting back," Azya frowned.

"Rin is at the castle with Jaken. If you wish a little longer in this world, it is fine," Sesshomaru spoke as he came around the bed and wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. "This Sesshomaru will stay until you are ready."

"Are you sure, Sessh?" she asked as she looked up at him surprised.

"It is an opportunity for you to show this Sesshomaru some of your world. It is time to leave this place of healers," Sesshomaru spoke as he pulled her into his arm and headed out of the room.

"I can walk…"

"You have been sick this past week without proper food and rest."

"Seriously Azzie, how did you get so lucky to have someone like him?" Zachery muttered as he walked beside Sesshomaru as they walked down the stairs of the hospital.

"I didn't ask for any of this, Zach. I almost died, remember?" Azya sighed. "We should go to the place near our apartment Zach. Besides having actual food, I need a shower."

"You are lame. I thought you would probably want to go somewhere fancier."

"High fever, injected with medicine and liquid food, and stuck in a hospital for a week, why would I want to go anywhere crowded? Besides, you forgot to bring me shoes."

"My bad, Azzie. I was mostly thinking of getting you dressed so you could even leave the hospital in decent clothing. Wasn't quite focused on your calloused feet."

"Watch it Zach, I can beat your ass with my eyes shut."

"As long as you do it gently my dear," Zach grinned and Sesshomaru growled at him as Azya wriggled out of his arm and lunged at the strange human.


	29. Chapter 29

Azya sighed as she walked into her room with only a towel on and ran a towel through her wet hair as she watched Sesshomaru as he looked at the paintings on her walls. She looked at the paintings and frowned as the castle ruins she had painted years ago started to seem familiar. The remaining structures reminded her of when Sesshomaru had taken her to his castle.

"These paintings are familiar," Sesshomaru spoke as he glanced at her.

"It would be hard to actually see that exact painting, considering that I painted it several years ago, but as I look at it, the architecture reminds me of your castle. That would make sense though since I was near the west coast to paint these ruins," Azya smiled as she pulled on some underwear and a bra before pulling on a pair of sweats and a tank top.

"What caused this destruction to the western castle?"

"Some war a couple hundred years ago so almost three hundred years in your future. It probably not something that should be really mentioned too much since it has not happened yet in your time. If we mess too much around with the past and future, it could change things."

"Hn."

"I've been doing some research on the Western Lands. Something to do and see if I could learn anything and some interesting pictures would come up." Sesshomaru sat beside her on the bed as she pulled up the images she had saved of a large white canine that had a crescent moon on its brow and jagged v-shaped magenta marks on the edges of its jaw while a large fluff of fur ran across its right shoulder and down its back. "I was wondering what your thoughts would be."

"That is this Sesshomaru's true form," he frowned. "The likeness is exact."

"Someone must have seen your true form and painted it. When I research that picture only, it brings up old scrolls from the feudal era only mentioning that this great canine was a protector of the Western Lands like its predecessor," Azya spoke as she pulled up another picture, bones of a large being with a canine head and wore armor, the remains dwarfing the terrain around it.

"This sire's final resting place."

"These are the remains of Toga? He seems even larger than your form…"

"A youkai's true form becomes larger the longer they live and their power increases. This one's sire was near 3 millennia. It is the place where Inuyasha and this Sesshomaru first fought for Tessaiga. I had changed into my true form and was not larger than his head," Sesshomaru snorted.

"That's when he took your arm, wasn't it?"

"Hn."

"So your true form is just an oversized puppy," Azya grinned as she got off the bed to put the laptop back on the desk.

"This Sesshomaru is no pup," he growled as he grabbed her by the edge of her pants and pulled her back to the edge of the bed.

"And yet, the term gets such a rise out of you," Azya smirked as she climbed into his lap, straddling him.

"Don't tempt me, woman," he growled, his chest rumbling as he did.

"But it's just too easy…"

"Hey, Azzie?" Zach poked his head into the room, a frown on his face. "I hate to be the one to interrupt, but Keisuke is at the door…"

"Fantastic," Azya sneered. "Guess that cat's out of the bag."

"What do you want to do?"

"He has a key so locking the door won't stop him. God, I regret making that key," she sighed as she heard the keys jangling with the locks.

"Woman, explain," Sesshomaru frowned as he held her tighter in his lap.

"Do you remember when you got mad that I had refused you after my sight returned?" she asked as she focused on his chest and he nodded. "Do you remember the reason why when I yelled at you in the dojo?"

"This Keisuke was the one?" he growled.

"Yeah," Azya muttered as she tucked her against his neck and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Vai, how dare you refuse to see me?!" his voice came down the hallway and Sesshomaru felt Azya flinch at the voice.

The door slammed open and Zachery stumbled forward as he got pushed into the room. Zachery caught himself on the edge of the bed before he fell to the ground and moved so he stood in between the unwanted visitor and did his best to shield Azya from view as she clung to Sesshomaru, still straddling him. The human had shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes with black tattoos covering his neck. He stood at Zachery's height while he had a piercing in his left brow and ear.

"I don't mind the fag being in your room Vai, but who the hell is this? You let me think that you were dead for five months, what the hell is your problem and why are you cuddled up to some other man?" Keisuke snapped.

"You were not invited in, please leave," Azya spoke quietly.

"You are mine, I don't need to be invited in. How dare you ignore me?"

"You are no such thing, you bastard! You merely used her while you played around the past three years!" Zach snapped. "She let you think she was dead because she does not love you. She had been trying to end it for months before her accident."

"Jealousy isn't your thing, fag. Being spiteful that she is with me and I am not with you is just pitiful."

"Ha, as if. You wouldn't be worth my time and you are no longer wanted here. Leave."

"Vai knows what will happen if she tries to leave me…"

"You try my patience," Sesshomaru growled as he stood and Azya moved to hide behind Zach as he grabbed the blonde by his neck tightened his grip around his neck. "The only thing that will happen now if you do not leave Azya alone is pain."

"Who are you, hired muscle?" Keisuke snapped as he gasped for air.

"He's her fiancée, idiot and you did not want to be on his bad side," Zach chuckled.

"You little whore…!"

"I will give you only one chance to leave."

"And if I don't, what are you going to do pretty boy?"

"Be lucky, human, that you are still breathing. If we were at my home, you would have lost your head the moment you barged into a home that you were not invited into," Sesshomaru growled as he let a little poison enter his claws.

"Hey Keisuke, your neck doesn't look too good," Zach mused. "It's like the skin is disintegrating. That must be the poison in your claws, Sesshomaru."

"Let me go… I'll leave… I won't come back again…." Keisuke cried out painfully.

"Even I don't believe that," Azya whispered quietly as she moved so she could see him, still curled up in the crook of Zach's arms. "You could never really trust him on his word. If I'm not here and he comes again, he will hurt Zach."

"What would you suggest, woman?" Sesshomaru asked as he glanced over his shoulder at her.

"He does not deserve to live after what he's done to me."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Zachery asked quietly. "This is no better than murder…"

"Poor innocent little Vai, so easily manipulated and pathetic…"

"I have already killed someone this year, don't tempt me," Azya snarled as she moved to take a step towards Keisuke and Sesshomaru, but was held back by Zack. "Even when poison is working its way into your body and you most likely won't be able to talk much longer, you still lie!"

"Do you think that he'd be able to pass through the well?" Zach offered and Azya glanced up at him with a frown. "The laws there are different and he would only be filled missing here if he was able to."

"That's true…"

"This Sesshomaru will return soon," her mate-to-be spoke before walking over to the balcony she had and disappeared from view with Keisuke.

"Are you sure about this Azzie?" Zach asked as he let her go and she started going around her room, making sure some things were packed into the bags she had bought for her return trip. "You kept going on about that girl you killed and how you regretted it."

"That was in self-defense. I had tried my best to not kill her. Keisuke is a completely different situation. I have so many issues because of him."

"But killing him?"

"I know that it won't solve anything, Zach, but I cannot let you be hurt because of him," Azya snapped as she turned to look at him. "Even being with a Daiyoukai, one of the strongest of youkai, I still felt fear because he was here and if I'm feeling that, then just thinking if he shows up to come after you… I can't bear the thought of that…"

"I can take care of myself Azzie," he frowned as he pulled her into a hug.

"What if you came with us…?"

"Azzie…"

"No, think about it Zach, what do you really have here? Besides an always drunk father, you've only ever had me around… there is so much that the past could offer. You could work in the Western Castle. As a veterinarian, you already know so much of animal behaviors and all that. Most of those who work there are Inu, all the guards can transform from what I'm told. You could learn about youkai, become a Demon Vet…" Azya pushed as she pulled back to look up at him.

"Azzie…"

"At least come and see the world I've chosen?"

"I can't just drop everything like you did. I have a job, customers who request me specifically…"

"I wasn't asking for you to fake something that I had no control over," she whispered as she pulled back and went back to packing her bags. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked something so selfish."

"You misunderstand me Azzie, at least let me catch back up so I can properly ask time off. I would love to be able to meet this child that you seem to have adopted and the wonders of the world of the past and demons."

"So in two months when Sesshomaru returns again to the Western Castle?"

"Sounds like a plan," Zach smiled as he hugged her again. "I need to head out. Damian needs help at the clinic, but call me when you come back through."

"See you around," Azya grinned hugging him back before he disappeared from the room. After hearing the front door close and lock, she went back to packing and put everything together in the living room with Sesshomaru's armor and weapons and curled up in his Mokomoko and turned on the TV, waiting for the Daiyoukai's return.


	30. Chapter 30

The second Sesshomaru and Azya touched down inside the courtyard of his castle, Rin was running towards them with the biggest smile on her face. Azya set down her bag and opened her arms for the girl and found herself being pushed backwards into Sesshomaru by the force, but hugged the girl tightly. She had missed her pack and as she looked around, she found Ah-Un asleep by the koi pond, covered in flowers and noticed the annoying imp as he seemed to be trying to hide behind the two-headed dragon.

"What's wrong with Jaken?" Azya frowned as Rin finally let go and she could breathe. "Isn't he usually the next one to greet you, Sesshomaru?"

"He fears you right now," Rin spoke with a chuckle. "He hasn't stopped mumbling about it since Lord Sesshomaru went to get you."

"Okay…?"

"He failed in his duties of watching Rin and she had been kidnapped by the vile half-breed. He had attempted to absorb this Sesshomaru but when he failed, he tried to have her killed by a minion he controls," Sesshomaru spoke and Azya looked up at him with a frown.

"I think it was time we talked about what I've missed. I'll meet you up in your study once I'm finished out here," Azya spoke quietly as a servant came out and took her bags, carrying them inside.

"He is still useful."

"I won't do anything fatal. Besides we still have to take care of the other problem, but he can wait," Azya frowned and he nodded before heading inside. "Rin, it's about time for your lessons before the midday meal."

"But you just got back," Rin whined and she smiled as she bent over and kissed the girl on her brow.

"I don't plan on going home any time soon. How about we cancel your afternoon lessons today? I just have a couple things to do before the midday meal."

"Okay," Rin smiled and ran off without another thought.

"Jaken, you and I need to have a little talk," Azya called out to the cowering kappa and felt his fear increase. She smirked as she started heading towards a bench near the other side of the courtyard. "There is no point in trying to hide or run, I can still feel you, so why don't you make this easier on the both of us?"

"You c…can't do anything to me," Jaken stuttered, stubbornly as he finally caught up to her as she sat down on the stone bench she had been headed towards.

"That's not true, I just can't kill you," she spoke calmly and watched him flinch back a few steps. "However, since I'm sure that you have already been severely punished, you don't need to fear me this time, but if you ever fail in the single task given to you of protecting that child, you will wish that I did kill you. I will make your insignificant little life hell, if she is ever kidnapped or injured while under your watch. If that means you die to protect her, then you will put yourself in the way of what ever threat that tries to even touch her and you will die, or you will have my wrath to deal with. I feel that Sesshomaru was too kind in what punishment he gave you, considering that you stand there without any injury. Do we understand each other, toad?"

"P…perfectly, L…Lady Azya," the kappa stuttered fearfully.

"Great," Azya smiled as she stood and straightened out the wrinkles in her tunic and saw him jump at the motion. "We are finished here. I am headed up to Sesshomaru's study so if you could ask the kitchen to bring up some tea, that would be nice."

"Of course," Jaken spoke before running away.

"Pity," Azya sighed as she started walking towards the main doors when she felt Sesshomaru's energy as he landed behind her. "Where's Keisuke?"

"He's chained up down in the dungeons," Sesshomaru spoke as he picked her him and jumped back up to his study's balcony. "He's being treated like any other prisoner until you decide what punishment he should receive."

"That's fine for now," she mused as he sat in his chair with her still in his arm. "Now tell me everything that happened since I returned to my world."

* * *

"Mama, the midday meal is ready. Should Rin head down now or can Rin walk down with you?"

The child entered the study and Azya watch as her eyes widened as she studied her and Sesshomaru. She had been straddling Sesshomaru, kissing his neck gently while his arm had been wrapped around her waist while the sleeve of her kimono had been pushed open some to expose her shoulder and he had been kissing and nipping the exposed skin. Azya felt a slight annoyance from Sesshomaru's aura as he pulled away from her exposed skin to watch the child as she spun around to face the door and cover her face with her hands.

"Oh… Rin should have knocked…"

"It is fine, Rin," Azya smiled as she slid off the annoyed Daiyoukai's lap and straighten her kimono. She smiled at Sesshomaru before walking over to the young girl and ran her hand through her hair, fixing a few strands out of place. "Let's head down for the meal. Sesshomaru has some things to finish up before joining us."

"He would have been done if he hadn't been otherwise occupied," Rin giggled and Azya stiffened, not expecting such an answer and felt Sesshomaru's surprise at hearing such a reply. "Does this mean that Lord Sesshomaru is my papa?"

"Perhaps we should have the midday meal in here," Azya frowned as she looked over at Sesshomaru and he nodded, flaring his aura to summon a servant. Azya pulled Rin over to the low table and knelt down beside her. "Why do you ask that, Rin?"

"Because you are like how Rin's mama and papa were when they were happy. You care for me like they did, and you like me like they did, don't you?" Rin spoke quietly and Azya frowned seeing the tears well up.

"Rin, why are you sad? I love being able to care for you. I may have been gone for a little while but I'm not upset," Azya spoke gently as she pulled the girl into her lap and held her close as she started crying. "I am honored to be your mother Rin so please don't be sad."

"What about Lord Sesshomaru?" She sniffed, her face buried in Azya's kimono.

"If we were to be mated, then yes, he would become your father figure," Azya spoke gently, feeling Sesshomaru'a discomfort and uncertainty of what to say. "We are merely testing the waters to see if it would work. If it all works out, you'll be the first to know, but until then, proper titles need to be used. Does this make sense, dearest Rin?"

"I think so… I can't call Lord Sesshomaru papa until you two get married?" she sniffed as she moved so she could wipe her face dry and smiled, despite the stray tears.

"Exactly," Azya smiled as she wiped away the stray tears. There was a single knock on the door before two servants came in with trays of food and placed them before Azya and Rin before leaving without a word, though Azya could feel their jealousy when they had glanced at her. "That was pathetic."

"What was, mama?" Rin asked as she moved to sit beside her and started picking at the food.

"Nothing you need to worry about, Rin," Azya smiled down at her but looked over at Sesshomaru as he stared at the doors where the servants had left.

"The youkai females, those dressed beautifully and the servants talk a lot, and they don't say nice things about you mama. Why is that and where is that youkai lady that had attacked you?"

"Youkai rules are much different than those of humans," Azya spoke calmly, her smile disappearing. "Youkai females fight each other and sometimes will kill to be noticed by a youkai male. Sesshomaru is Lord of the Western Lands and is not mated so every female who think that they could possibly be noticed and become closer to him fight. Those that are stronger are more likely to be noticed by youkai males. Those of this castle are not respectful of me because Sesshomaru has paid more attention to me without me even trying and many think it's disgraceful because I am human. As for Kumia, she would not stop her attacks against me because of these youkai rules and I had to put her down. I had to protect myself for my place within this pack and there will be more."

"Why don't you just marry Lord Sesshomaru then? Wouldn't that stop the fighting and disrespect?"

"Many may still try and challenge me, even if I mated with him. It's just how youkai are."

"Well then they are stupid. Humans don't have to try that hard for love," Rin muttered before shoving a piece of meat into her mouth.

"It's because youkai are long-lived beings and because of the breed of their inner youkai that more animalistic behaviors are exhibited," Azya spoke, smiling at Rin's innocence as Sesshomaru came over and sat across from them. She poured him some tea before focusing on her own meal and felt his aura flare slightly in his thanks, making her look back up at him with a smile and saw the warmth in his eyes as he watched her. "Rin, what would you like to do this afternoon?"

"Is there a lake or somewhere nearby that we could go to?" Rin asked after swallowing her mouthful.

"The ocean isn't too far from the castle, right?" Azya asked Sesshomaru and he nodded. "Would you be able to accompany us?"

"This Sesshomaru has meetings this afternoon. Two soldiers and Jaken…"

"Rin doesn't want to go unless Lord Sesshomaru can," Rin interrupted and Azya frowned at the girl beside her as she pouted. "If Rin cannot spend the afternoon with both mama and Lord Sesshomaru then I'll just go to my afternoon lessons."

"Rin, I'm pretty sure I have mentioned that it is not appropriate to interrupt someone when they are talking."

"When Lord Sesshomaru can get away from his duties, then we can go to the ocean," Rin pouted before getting up and running out of the room.

"She's moody today," Azya sighed. "She's too young to be having puberty already, I wonder what's going on. She noticed those two servant's distaste when bringing the food, is she being treated badly by the servants?"

"I'll have Priscilla look into it."

"Hopefully she'll cheer up soon, we go back to traveling in the next couple days. She's not too keen being here cooped up in the castle when you have to catch up on your work, but then again, neither am I. The castle is far too big for my liking and too many who are not a fan of me being by your side."

"They will have to deal with it," he spoke with a growl as he moved around the table, pulled her to her feet, and carried her over to the large pillows by the fireplace and brought her to his lap. Loosening her kimono again, he went back to nuzzling her skin and sighed quietly into her neck.

"You overwork yourself, you know," Azya whispered as she ran her hands through his long hair. "Maybe you should cancel your meetings this afternoon."

"Tempting," he hummed and she flinched slightly as he nipped her collarbone, "but this Sesshomaru can already feel that they have arrived at the gates."

"Then I guess we'll have to postpone this," Azya teased as she pushed him back slightly to look at him.

"You may stay during the meetings," he spoke as he went back to teasing her shoulder.

"Temping," she mused, mocking him slightly and got bit as a result. "You would not be able to focus if I stayed. Besides, since being sick, I have weakened a bit. I was thinking of going down to the dojo before taking Rin to the private springs and see what I can find out from her."

"Hn."

"I think that I'll excuse myself before your guest arrives," Azya pressed as she slid out of his lap and got back to her feet, fixing her clothes. "I'll see you later."

"Hn." Sesshomaru got to his feet and she reached up on her toes to kiss him on the lips before leaving the room.


	31. Chapter 31

"There's a river nearby. Maybe we can try to catch some fish," Rin spoke excitedly and Azya smiled at her adoptive daughter as she wandered off.

"Slow down Rin! Don't be so hasty!" Jaken called, giving a single glance at her before chasing after the child.

Azya followed at her own pace, opening her senses to the area around them and detected multiple youkai energies ahead. Speeding up a little as she saw Rin manage to push her way through the brush that hid the river, she felt Rin's fear skyrocket. Passing Jaken, she rushed forward and jumped over the bushes.

"Huh, it's two human girls," one spoke a black section of hair visible.

"Calm down, you mutts. Humans are no good," the other with a white Mohawk scolded the wolves around them.

"Mama!" Rin cried and hid behind her, gripping her kimono tightly.

"You there, wolves! Leave this area immediately!" Jaken snapped as he came into view.

"Why should we?" the one with the black tuft of hair snapped. "Besides, who do you think you're talking to?"

"We're the right and left hand men of Koga, the young leader of the wolf demon tribe!" the one with the white Mohawk spoke. "I'm Hakkaku, the shrewd one!"

"And I'm Ginta, I've got dimples. You must have heard of us."

"Nope, never heard of you," Jaken snorted. "Cower in fear, mangy wolves. It has been centuries since I began serving Lord Sesshomaru! Crossed through 3,000 worlds, have I. His most loyal follower. I answer to the name of Jaken."

"That was kind of pathetic, Jaken," Azya frowned as she kicked the toad back into the bushes. "I don't recognize you two, but I do recognize the energies of your pack mates there, so let me ask your mutts a question."

"Yeah…?" Ginta frowned, taken aback and Azya made Rin let go of her clothing as she stepped closer.

"Are they the ones who had harmed my child many lunar cycles ago?" Azya asked darkly and seeing the wolves cower back, she had her answer. "You filthy mutts…!"

"Woman," Sesshomaru's voice pulled her out of her anger and she glanced back to see her future mate with Rin hiding behind him.

"Oh come on, you know that I could beat them all with my eyes closed," she frowned, feeling his energy flare as if to tell her to back off.

"You looking for a fight?" Hakkaku scowled and Azya looked at him unimpressed, feeling his fear.

"We can leave, but it ain't out of fear," Ginta spoke and Azya snorted.

"Yeah, you don't scare us."

"You all reek of fear," Azya grinned and took another step towards them and they bolted. "Is this how it usually is when a youkai crosses your path? They feel the strength of your youkai and flee with their tails between their legs?"

"Or they perish," Jaken squawked and she kicked a rock at his head.

"Rin?" Sesshomaru glanced down at the girl behind him and she jumped, but smiled up at him.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Weren't you going to catch some fish?"

"Yes!" Rin gasped before immediately jumping into the river.

"Those lesser wolves were there that day you found her," Azya spoke quietly as she walked back to him as he sat against a tree. "Why did you not let me attack them?"

"They are not worth the effort. This Sesshomaru could have killed them with a single attack of my poison whip and you no longer have a weapon since your staff broke."

"Guess that means it's time for you to get me a new one. If those wolves cross my path again, I will kill them Sesshomaru and if that means I use you're sword or Jaken's staff, I will. Rin remembers them and was petrified from fear.

"You will not. You would not even be able to wield said weapons since they are for youkai, woman."

"You won't stop me on this Sesshomaru. I will not have Rin live in constant fear because a pack of mutts had actually killed her before you saved her," Azya snapped.

"If you continue to disobey this Sesshomaru, you will be punished, woman," Sesshomaru spoke as he watched her.

"And what could you possibly do, Sessh? You cannot harm me and in protecting the child that seems to have been adopted into my life, there will be much disregard for orders. If something is a threat to my child… our child… then I will act even if you are unable to," Azya spoke gently as she knelt in between his legs and touched his cheek. "I cannot sit idly by while our child fears the one thing that has truly harmed her. I won't stop next time."

"Mama, look! I have enough for us and even some for Ah-Un!" Azya turned around while sitting in Sesshomaru's lap and saw her running up from the river bank with almost a dozen fish in the fabric of her kimono. Said two-headed dragon snorted as he lumbered through the brush and nudged Jaken to wake him. "Master Jaken, could you make a fire so we could cook these?"

"Wretched human, you don't get to just kick stones because you don't get your way," Jaken squawked.

"Want me to do it again?" Azya threatened and the kappa disappeared into the brush.

"Woman," Sesshomaru spoke disapprovingly as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back against him, being mindful of his armor.

"Sorry, those mutts put me in a bad mood," Azya muttered.

Jaken came back into view with a pile of wood and used his staff to light it and silently helped Rin skewer the fish and set them over the fire while Ah-Un ate his pile of fish raw. The fish were eaten quickly and Ah-Un put out the fire with a mouthful of water from the river before they were headed back on their travels, following wherever Sesshomaru led them. Behind them, Jaken walked by the two-headed dragon while Rin sat on his saddle and she walked beside Sesshomaru, holding onto his empty sleeve out of habit as they walked back into the woods.

* * *

"Them again," Jaken frowned.

Azya saw the two humanoid wolf demons from earlier in the day and made a move towards them, but found Sesshomaru's Mokomoko wrapped around her waist and lifted her up and she found herself hanging over his left shoulder, just above the metal spikes of his armor. She looked at the Daiyoukai who had physically held her back, she sighed and propped her head up in her hand, making sure to dig her elbow into him just a bit, grateful that she wasn't facing the other way with her ass facing the wolves. Not paying attention to Jaken as he yelled at the two wolves, she found herself slightly amused by their mock fighting as if it would even scare them and ended up finding herself snickering at the act until a third wolf demon showed up, standing above them on a section of cliff.

"Who are you? What do you want?" the wolf snapped as he jumped down from the cliff and landed beside Ginta and Hakkaku. "He reeks of that mutt Inuyasha."

"Lord Sesshomaru…? Mama…?" Azya lifted herself up enough to look at the child as she cowered on Ah-Un as she stared at the third wolf.

"That's him. Inuyasha's older brother!" Hakkaku spoke.

"Don't want to go picking a fight with him," Ginta spoke.

"I know him," Azya frowned. "He's the one who seemed to be blatantly flirting with Kagome the day I got kidnapped by those panthers."

"So you're Inuyasha's brother, except you're not a hanyou," the wolf spoke and Azya felt Sesshomaru's aura spike a little. "What's this? Looks like I've struck a nerve."

"Koga, no!" Both is lackeys, Ginta and Hakkaku warned and Azya groaned and let herself fall forward, resting her head on the chest plate of Sesshomaru's armor.

"There's a demon coming from behind those wolves," Azya muttered quietly as she felt Sesshomaru take several steps towards the wolves.

As if on que, a large purple ogre youkai broke through the trees. It lunged at Kouga who dodged then he jumped up to kick it in its face before jumping back. Sesshomaru drew Tokijin and killed the ogre before Kouga's feet hit the ground.

"Thanks but I could have handled him myself," Kouga muttered, putting his hands on his hips and Azya felt Sesshomaru's annoyance before feeling another youkai energy but Rin beat her to the punch.

"Help me Master Jaken!" Rin screamed.

Azya found herself sitting on the ground as both Sesshomaru and Kouga dashed towards the centipede demon as it deflected an attack from Jaken, sending him face first into the dirt. Somehow Kouga reached the youkai first and with several kicks, he killed the bug. He landed besides Rin as she managed to get to her feet and brush the dirt off her clothes and watched as Kouga started walking towards Sesshomaru.

"Unnecessary interference," Sesshomaru spoke as the wolf demon passed.

"Feeling's mutual," Kouga spoke nonchalantly. Azya stepped in the wolf's way before he could reach his lackeys and felt Sesshomaru's warning from his aura but she ignored it. As the wolf stopped in front of her, he snorted in amusement and crossed his arms across his chest. "What do you want human?"

"If I ever see you or your lackeys again near my child, not even my lord will be able to stop me from killing any of you," Azya hissed as she grabbed the front of his chest plate and pulled him down to be face to face, and watched as his eyes widened in surprise. "I know what your wolves did to her and she would not be here if not for my lord's strength. Just know this, I would be able to defeat the three of you with my eyes closed. Stay away from us."

"You're just a human," Kouga laughed before crying out in surprise as she threw him over her shoulder and landed on his back behind her.

"Don't underestimate me, mutt," Azya sneered as she turned and looked down at the surprised wolf. "I may not have the strength of a youkai, but by being trained by my lord extensively, you would be easy to take down. Now get out of my sight mutts."

Ginta and Hakkaku scrambled forward to pull Kouga to his feet and they disappeared into the woods without another word. Feeling Sesshomaru right behind her, she sighed and leaned against him as her body seemed drained of energy. Sesshomaru pulled her into his arm without a word, though his aura was full of concern, and headed in a different direction that the wolves went.

"Hurry Master Jaken, or you'll be left behind," Rin called and heard the kappa squawk in surprise.

"Wait for me!"

"Woman," Sesshomaru spoke gently and she looked up at him with a small smile.

"I feel drained of energy. We have been traveling all day with no rest since the river, maybe the constant encounters with the wolves were more tiring than I realized," she spoke as she touched his cheek.

"Sleep."


	32. Chapter 32

This story is still following along with the series at this point for now.

Please enjoy and review

* * *

"Wow, it's such a large mountain, isn't it, master Jaken?" Rin exclaimed.

Azya glanced up at the large mountain in the distance and with her senses, she could barely make out Sesshomaru's aura as he scouted out the area some distance away due to the overpowering pure aura that seemed to wrap around the entire mountain side. A groan behind her directed her to the two-foot imp and two-headed dragon as both were lying down on the ground, Jaken more vocal about his discomfort.

"I feel awful," Jaken groaned. "Why did I have to come to a wretched place like this one?"

"What's the matter, master Jaken?" Rin asked as she turned to look at the complaining imp.

"I'm in pain!"

"Well don't take it out on Rin, you stupid imp," Azya snapped quietly, the pure aura making her uneasy for her future mate's sake.

"How come?" Rin frowned.

"Don't you get it?" Jaken grunted as he used to his staff to get to his feet and started to walk towards where Ah-Un laid. "Mount Hakurei is sacred. Demons like me have a difficult time even approaching it. You probably don't feel anything, Rin, because you're an innocent human girl, but I feel as if I'm being dragged… Hey, hey! Wait!"

"Come on, let's go look just a little further, master Jaken," Rin spoke as she dragged Jaken with her.

"No, wait! I mustn't… Stop! I got to go back!" Jaken sputtered as Azya watched Rin pull him further before he managed to get out of the child's grip and dashed back to where she waited with Ah-Un. "No!"

"You are pathetic," Azya snorted as the imp collapsed against Ah-Un.

"There's no way a massive evil like Naraku could exist here," Jaken panted. "So why would Lord Sesshomaru want to…"

"Oh shut up already," Azya interrupted as she walked over to where Rin was and took her hand. "Lord Sesshomaru will return soon. We shouldn't be wandering around this area especially with the great Jaken so weakened."

"But you are an amazing fighter, mama!"

"I have not been given a replacement after my staff broke," Azya spoke as she pulled Rin back to where Jaken hunkered down with Ah-Un.

"Okay," Rin spoke as sat down, dejectedly.

Azya was going to sit down as well when Rin suddenly gasped and darted off back towards the mountain. She dashed after her with Jaken behind and almost caught her when a burning smell directed her to the screaming imp behind her. She spun around and saw Jaken on his butt, injuries on his body. Scoffing at the imp she dashed back after the child that she could still sense and could feel another presence ahead of the child. She reached a cave and could hear Rin calling out.

"Kohaku! Kohaku!"

"It's you!" a voice spoke that sounded like a young boy and soon she saw Rin and a boy, but growled seeing the boy's hand on a blade at his waist.

"I'm so glad. I get to see you again," Rin spoke as she stopped in front of the boy and his hand left his weapon.

"Rin, what are you doing here?"

"We didn't part on good terms last time, and it kind of bothered me."

"Go back! This is no place for someone like you," the boy spoke.

"I could say the same about you, boy," Azya snapped as she reached them and grabbed Rin by her arm and pulled her behind her. "I thought I told you not to wander away, Rin."

"Shh!" Kohaku hissed as he turned to face deeper into the cave.

"What is it?" Rin asked as she grabbed Azya's clothes.

"Something that should not be capable of surviving on this mountain," Azya spoke quietly as she closed her eyes and opened her senses and sensed a multitude of demons that had a similar energy as to the wind sorceress that she had met before. "Quiet Rin."

"Go back slowly before they notice that you're here," the boy spoke quietly.

"Kohaku…" Rin whimpered.

"Hurry up and leave. If they see you, they will kill you."

"You seem to know an awful lot about these demons, boy," Azya spoke as she pushed Rin back as she took several steps back with her.

"They won't hurt me."

"Because you work for that vile hanyou? So, Sesshomaru was right," Azya frowned as she opened her eyes again and saw dozens of red eyes glowing in the darkness. "Come, Rin."

Rin spun around and started running out of the cave and Azya followed behind her, silently. Outside the cave, Rin tried to stop but Azya grabbed her arm and pulled her with her as she kept moving, not even giving her a chance to speak. She could feel the edge of the barrier and a familiar aura waiting at its edge.

"You mustn't go in there, my lord! If you enter sacred grounds, even you'll be instantly purified!" Azya heard Jaken's annoying voice and in the distance could see Sesshomaru.

"Be quiet and look behind you," Sesshomaru spoke to the imp as Azya stopped running while Rin continued ahead of her.

"Is that Rin?" the imp squawked and Azya sighed quietly.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin called.

"Kohaku was there, wasn't he?" Sesshomaru spoke, a slight harshness in his voice.

"Huh?" Rin spoke as she stopped running and Azya caught up to them and stood behind her with her arms crossed, waiting for the child's reply.

"Uh, now be honest, Rin," Jaken squawked. "You can't deceive Lord Sesshomaru's keen nose."

"Uh, the truth is, Kohaku helped me escape," Rin spoke quietly. "There were lots and lots of demons in the cave."

"What's that?" Sesshomaru spoke and Azya saw surprise in his eyes.

"Kohaku protected me from the demons."

"Let's not forget that you wouldn't have been in danger if you had listened," Azya spoke coldly and Rin glanced up at her. "You're in a lot of trouble, Rin."

"But mama…"

"That boy tried to kill you once when I was gone. He is controlled by that even hanyou and if you continue to disobey then I will take you back to the castle."

"Lord Sesshomaru…" Rin turned to face the Daiyoukai but Azya saw his attention focused on the mountain.

"These lands are dangerous, Rin, and if not even sacred grounds can stop Naraku's demons from being behind its barrier then not even sacred grounds are pure anymore. You cannot just run off because you are curious, so please be a little more careful in your actions," Azya spoke as she knelt down besides the child and touched her cheek. "I could not bear it if you were hurt."

"I'm sorry, mama," Rin whispered as she wrapped her small arms around her neck.

"Just don't do that again, please," Azya sighed as she pulled Rin into her arms as she stood back up. "What do you propose we do now, Sesshomaru?"

"Come," Sesshomaru spoke turning away from the barrier and headed back towards the path they had come on.

* * *

Azya stood in front of Sesshomaru as she stared at the wooden bridge that went across the ravine and frowned. Both she could and Sesshomaru could feel the energy of someone nearby and had sent Ah-Un to the skies above. A flash of light, almost like lightning appeared from the bushes nearby and Sesshomaru jumped forward, pulling Tokijin and blocked the attack. The jagged light disappeared and a man appeared from the bushes with blue triangles under his eyes and he wore a pastel yukata and a purple scarf around his shoulders and he carelessly held his curved blade over his shoulder.

"I assume you are one of Naraku's followers," Sesshomaru spoke as he landed, standing between her and the man, Rin and Jaken off to the side near the edge of the cliff.

"How very perceptive of you," the man chuckled and Azya frowned.

"Just like that poison user, you reek of a dead mortal."

"My, what a keen sense of smell, just what I'd expect from Inuyasha's older brother," he spoke before swinging his sword again, and the jagged white light shot out towards. Sesshomaru blocked it again and ran at him, swinging Tokijin, and missed the man but destroyed the ground around, sending the man backwards who then rolled over and started to roll away. "That was a close call!"

"Silly mortal! Spare yourself the suffering and let him slay you quickly!" Jaken chortled.

"Shut up before I kick you off this cliff, Jaken," Azya snapped, glancing at the imp, missing the man's attack that landed right in front of Jaken and Rin, making Rin scream.

"You talking to me, Imp? Well?" the man snapped and as Azya glanced at him, he had his back turned towards Sesshomaru.

"Who are you calling imp?" Jaken snapped before the man started laughing, raising his sword as if to attack them but Azya saw Sesshomaru jump into the air behind the man.

"Watch this!" the man jeered as he spun around and swung at Sesshomaru again.

"Jaken," Sesshomaru spoke, giving his order in that one word as he deflected the attack again.

"Yes, my lord? This way, Rin!"

"Wait! What about…

"There's nothing we can do here..." Jaken spoke, pulling Rin with him as Sesshomaru landed besides Azya near the wooden bridge, guarding them as the two smaller ones started running across the bridge, "except stay out of Lord Sesshomaru's way!"

"Be safe, Sesshomaru," Azya whispered before dashing after the two, keeping her senses open.

"Hm, so you don't want the little girl to get in harm's way," azya heard the man say, amusement in his voice. "Well, aren't you just the kindest thing around."

"You talk a great deal for a dead mortal," Sesshomaru scoffed.

"I'm getting tired of you harping on me about being dead! Oh, never mind. With them gone, at least you'll be able to concentrate on our battle. Come on, let's do it!"

"I'm worried about Lord Sesshomaru," Rin muttered as she glanced back past Azya as she kept behind them, staying at their pace. "Think he'll be alright?"

"Fool, he would never succumb to the attacks of a mere mortal," Jaken scoffed.

"You might, though, master Jaken," Rin spoke absently and Azya had to snort in agreement.

"Watch your tongue, girl," Jaken snapped, glancing back at her before his eyes met Azya's narrowed ones for a moment. "I am a youkai, too, remember? I would never fall at the hands of a human…!"

"Stop," Azya hushed as she pulled them both to a stop, feeling a presence a head of them. "Get behind me, both of you."

Both obeyed as a tall man emerged into view form the mist, green markings on his face, and blue clothing under his armor. Azya narrowed her eyes, feeling a similar energy from this man that she had from the one that Sesshomaru was fighting and glanced at his hands where metal claws were tied to his hands. She could feel both Rin and Jaken shaking behind her as the man rose his clawed hand to attack. Grabbing Jaken's staff from his small hands, Azya blocked the attack, hearing Rin scream in shock behind her.

"You won't be able to escape me," the man laughed, attacking again and Azya blocked it, slowly moving backwards as the two behind her moved back, but remained close.

"Staff of two heads!" Azya called and watched as the old man's head opened, spewing fire at the man in front of them. Once the fire disappeared, she frowned at how much damage to the bridge the fire had caused, but did not see the man.

"So much for that threat!" Jaken laughed from behind her.

"Yes, but the bridge…"

"Yeah… didn't think of that," Azya grimaced, turning to the two and pushed them back towards the way they had come. "Run!"

"Hurry!" Jaken spoke as he and Rin stayed ahead of her but she skidded to a halt as claws came up just before her feet.

"You can't get rid of me that easily."

"Run!" Azya screamed, throwing Jaken's staff back at him and kicked at the man's head as she felt the bridge jerk under her feet before the chain that held the railing snapped and Rin's screams filled her as all four of them fell into the mist covered ravine, unknowing what was below them.


	33. Chapter 33

Pain was the first thing she felt as she opened her eyes, frowning as she found herself lying on her stomach on a white pelt and nothing was on the upper half of her body. Keeping her front against the pelt she propped herself onto her arms and looked around. Ah-Un was nearby asleep by the fire and Rin was sitting with her back to her, a pot over the fire.

"Rin…?" Azya called, her voice weak and the girl spun around, tears in her eyes.

"Mama! You're finally awake!" Rin dashed over and knelt beside her. "Are you okay?"

"I've been better," she smiled as she laid back down and held the girls small hand. "Where are we? What happened?"

"I don't know what happened to you after that bridge broke but Lord Sesshomaru had you with him when he saved me from that man with the green markings. Your injuries are pretty bad and haven't stopped bleeding. After Ah-Uh came back, Lord Sesshomaru had me take you away from the mountain. So many demons came pouring out of that place and the mist turned purple, destroying all the trees. You've been asleep for almost three days now."

"Where is Sesshomaru?"

"He said Naraku was in that mountain and took Jaken with him."

"I'm sure he is searching for us now," Azya smiled gently. "I believe that it's almost time to return to the castle so that he can catch up on his work."

"I don't like that place mama. Everyone is so mean to you and say all sorts of mean things when they think I cannot hear them."

"Neither do I, but it Sesshomaru's home. Most Youkai look down on humans like us, but we just have to ignore it and be proud of who we are."

"I'll try, Mama. Oh, the water…! I was boiling bandages so that I could change the ones on your back right now," Rin spoke as she dashed over to the pot and used a stick to pull out the clothes and hung them over a makeshift rack to cool.

"You'll make a great healer when you're older," Azya smiled gently as she watched her start grinding herbs on a worn stone. "I wonder if the castle healer would take you on and teach you more."

"I'd like that, if he isn't a meanie," Rin spoke as she brought the paste over and set it beside her before pulling the clothes off her back carefully and dumped them into the water-filled pot. "I worry about your back though, mama. It still bleeds a lot, more than the injuries you had when I met you."

"When Sesshomaru arrives, he'll take care of it. The mark on my chest makes it so that his blood heals me, we just have to do what we can for now," Azya spoke as Rin started to wash her back carefully before spearing the herbal past across a large majority of her back and covering her back with the many clothes. "Now that I am awake, if we have any long bandages we could wrap my chest to put pressure on the wounds."

"If you move too much, it will just cause more bleeding. The herbal paste is doing fine."

"If you say so, Doctor Rin," Azya smiled but Rin only frowned. "What is it, Rin?"

"That man, the one who had attacked us on the bridge… he was a doctor, too. It was like he was two different men in the same body. I guess he had lived near the base of that mountain, healing people… a priestess had shot an arrow in his neck and the nice one came out before his companion killed him…"

"It's called a split personality. It's an illness that some have. Did the priestess help him find peace, at least?"

"I think so."

"Good," Azya spoke gently. "Is there any dried meat left?"

"Oh, you must be hungry!" Rin exclaimed, jumping to her feet and ran over to where Ah-Un's saddle bags sat and cane back with some of the wrapped meat. "Here."

"Thank you dearest Rin," Azya smiled as she carefully propped herself up onto her elbows to pick at the dried meat. "You look exhausted, Rin. Why don't you get some sleep? I'll wake you if I feel that the bandages need to be changed."

"Can I sleep by you?" Rin asked as she pulled the bandages that she had put in out and over the rack to dry.

"Of course."

After setting her two pelts up beside her, Rin snuggled under them and rolled towards her, her small hands touching her side as she fell asleep. Azya laid on her arms and turned her head to watch the child sleep, the distraction barely mentally numbing the pain. She could feel that her injuries were bad, her body hot from a fever as it tried to fight infection. Hoping that Ah-Un was keeping his senses open, she let her eyes close, her own senses dulled because of the injuries.

* * *

Hands on her back lifting the bandages made Azya jerk awake, Rin still fast asleep at her side and she lifted herself up into her elbows and looked around. As her eyes caught sight of the Western Lord as he sat beside her, she sighed in relief and let herself lay back down, reaching out to grip his clothing. She watched as he dug his nail into his palm several times before lifting her bandages and she could feel his blood fall into her wounds, a tingling feeling coursing through her body as the pain started to fade instantly.

"You're back," Azya whispered in relief as he finished, keeping her voice quiet so not to disturb the child beside her.

"Hn."

"I'm sorry," she muttered quietly. "I failed you and Rin… it was my fault that the bridge was destroyed. If I hadn't grabbed Jaken's staff…"

"Jaken would have done the same. It was I who failed you, Azya. I did not give you a weapon after yours broke, thinking it would be enough," he spoke quietly.

"Don't… even you know that a bo staff would not have been enough," Azya frowned as she forced herself up again and pulled herself closer so that she could lay her chest in his lap and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"You didn't fail Rin. You are the reason she survived with no injuries. According to Jaken, you managed to grab both of them during the fall, letting your body take all the hits."

"Sounds like something I would have done," Azya smiled.

"If you didn't have that mark on your chest, you would have died, Azya," he growled as he lifted her head up to look at him.

"I may not be her birth mother, but she is my child and you know that I would have done the exact same thing."

"Once your injuries heal, this sesshomaru will seek out the blacksmith Totosai.

"Doesn't he usually run away from you? Isn't that the reason you commissioned Tokijin from Kaijinbo? Maybe it would be better if you sent me with Ah-Un, after all, he seems nicer to humans. I'll have to travel to the well soon anyway to bring Zach through so he can see this world."

"Rest, woman," Sesshomaru spoke gently as he rested his arm on her upper arm. "We'll discuss this once you finish healing."

"I'm glad that you came back safely," Azya mused as she relaxed her body in his lap and willingly let the darkness take over.


	34. Chapter 34

Azya jumped into the well, the weight of a naginata across her back as she wore a pair of deep blue hamakas tucked into angle boots and a deep blue haori, the right sleeve not going past her shoulder while the left went to her wrist. Her two-toned hair was pulled back into a single braid, the silver already reaching her collarbone. There was an envelope inside her haori with some kind of offering to Totosai if he agreed to make her a weapon, but Sesshomaru had given her the naginata before she left the castle that morning.

Entering polluted future, she climbed out of the well and headed over to the house and knocked on the door. Kagome had told her many times that she could just walk in and even told her where the spare key was, but she never wanted to give Mrs. Higurashi false hope that it was her daughter. The door opened and she saw Souta, who immediately grabbed her hand and pulled her into the house.

"Oh, Azya, you still won't just let yourself in?" Mrs. Higurashi frowned as she came into view, a towel in her hands.

"I don't mind announcing my presence, Mrs. Higurashi," Azya smiled, as she slid off her boots and rested the naginata by the coat rack.

"You know that you can call me mom, I care for you just like Kagome."

"Wouldn't it be weird…?" Azya frowned, surprised by how forward she was.

"Not at all, dear," she smiled back as she came over and hugged her. "You seem to be doing well. How are your travels with Inuyasha's brother?"

"It's great," Azya smiled. "I gotta make a call, sorry."

"Take your time, I'll make you a couple meals since it seems that you won't be staying long," Mrs. Higurashi spoke before disappearing.

"Talk about motherly," she grinned at Souta who smiled back before heading up to Kagome's room and grabbed the phone to dial Zachery."

' _Hello_?'

"Hey lazy ass, you get the time off?" Azya spoke as she sat at the desk.

' _Sure did, just finished packing. I'll ride my bike over so we don't intrude on Mrs. Higurashi.'_

"She is insisting that I call her mom now. Now hurry up, I have an errand to run before we get to the castle."

' _Yes, mother,_ ' Zachery mocked with a laugh before handing up.

"Idiot," Azya snorted as she put the phone back and headed back down to the living room and walked into the kitchen. "Hey mama, I am taking my friend on a trip through the well. Is it okay if we store his bike here?"

"Of course," Mrs. Higurashi smiled as she started preparing four different bento boxes.

"You must go through so many bento boxes between Kagome and I," Azya frowned as she sat at the island.

"I enjoy making them. At least I'll know that they eat well every now and then. How about you?"

"Sesshomaru hunts for fresh meat almost every night when we're traveling but we always carry a small supply of dried meat when he doesn't. The girl I have adopted is always good at catching fish or finding fruits and vegetables so I eat very well."

"That's good to hear. So how is the cruel daiyoukai treating you?"

"He's not cruel at all. He's good at composing himself and always seems calm so it rubs off on Inuyasha wrong. He actually asked me to marry him."

"Really?! Kagome and Inuyasha always tell me that he hates humans…"

"If they are in his way, yeah but he treats everyone with respect unless they don't deserve it. Inuyasha is his half-brother so it's much different," Azya smiled with a shrug as there was a knock on the door.

"I got it!" Souta called before running to the door. "Zach! How are you?"

"Hey little man," she heard Zachery say before he entered the room, a bag on his back. "Damn, you look like your going into battle…"

"Still an idiot," Azya grinned as she got up and hugged him.

"Don't forget to take the bento boxes, Azya," Mrs. Higurashi smiled as she came into the living room, the four boxes in a bag.

"Thanks mama," Zach smiled as he took the bag as Azya slid her boots on and grabbed her naginata.

"Be safe, you two."

"We will," Azya and Zach called as they left the house.

"Anything else you need?"

"Let's go, Azzie," Zach grinned as he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the well house.

Azya tightened her grip on his hand and jumped into the well without hesitation, pulling him with her. She glanced at her best friend as the purple lights surrounded them and watched the amazement on his face before they landed at the bottom of the well in the past. Letting go of his hand and grabbing the bag of bento boxes, she climbed the vines easily and saw Ah-Un get to his feet.

"Hey handsome, hope you got a good nap in," Azya smiled at the two-headed beast as he lumbered over to her and both heads nuzzled her neck.

"We are really here…" Zach gasped as he sat on the lip of the well and stared at the dragon beside her.

"Zach, meet Ah-Un. Ah-Un, this is my friend, Zach," Azya smiled as she reached forward and pulled Zach to his feet and closer to the dragon. "He prefers his greens over meat, he won't bite."

"It's a dragon, give me a minute…" Zach spoke hesitantly and Azya smiled before working on tucking the bento boxes into one of the bags before grabbing Zach's bag and tucked it into one of the empty saddle bags. Azya jumped up onto the saddle and secured the straps of the naginata so that it wouldn't move and waited as Zach slowly brought his hand up to touch the scales of his side. "Wow…"

"Come on, Zach," Azya grinned. "If we don't arrive at the castle in one week, Sesshomaru is going to hunt us down and I don't know how far away Totosai lives."

"Pushy," Zach chuckled before taking her hand and climbed up onto the saddle behind her awkwardly, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Don't let me fall."

"I won't. Alright Ah-Un, time to go to Totosai's home," Azya spoke, nudging the dragon's side, making him jump into the air.

"The air really is so clean here. This view is amazing…"

"Better than an airplane?"

"Absolutely!" Zach grinned, relaxing behind her.

Ah-Un roared happily as they flew higher, the midday sun warm on their skin. Azya grinned, letting Ah-Un guide the way as they headed south. They flew the whole afternoon and when the sun started, Azya directed Ah-Un to a hot spring for the night.

"Ahh, this is the life," Zach moaned as he sunk into the water of the hot spring and Azya smirked at him as she relaxed against a rock, her naginata within reach.

"Bet you haven't used any of your vacation time since you started working there. Did they cry when you asked for time off?" Azya asked.

"Pretty sure Damian was close. Another year working with him, I might actually turn him gay," Zach snorted and Azya shook her head. "You have new scars on your back…"

"I was stupid, decided to use a staff that produced fire on a wooden bridge. Guess I was unconscious for three days with Rin taking care of me while Sesshomaru was hunting down an enemy. The mark increases my healing slightly so it had started scaring when he finally added his blood to the wounds last week."

"So the scars were the outer edges? Damn Azya, you need to be more careful. That mark can only protect you so much."

"That's why we are taking this side trip. There is a blacksmith that hopefully will commission a weapon for me."

"Hopefully?"

"He's not a big fan of Sesshomaru. The minute he senses his presence, he'll make a run for it," Azya chuckled. "Otherwise he would have been doing this trip while I had taken you to the castle."

"Gotcha. Boyfriend is big, bad, and scary…"

"You already know this," Azya shook her head as she stepped out of the water and dried off before dressing.

"What happened to Keisuke?"

"He's still alive for now. I honestly haven't dealt with him yet, he's been treated fairly in the dungeon from what I hear."

"He's been in the dungeon for two months and you haven't even checked on him yet?"

"He's lucky that's all I'm doing right now," Azya huffed as she picked up her naginata and sat against a tree.

"You women are scary," Zach chuckled as he got out and dressed before sitting beside her.

"I know," she grinned, opening the bag of bento boxes and handed him one before grabbing one for her. "Eat up, the night is warm so I would like to continue traveling. I don't feel comfortable setting up camp. I haven't been through this area before, I don't know what kind of Youkai live around here."

"Should I have brought a gun?"

"I can feel the energies of Youkai and there isn't any within 50 yards of us," Azya spoke simply as she ate.

"But there are some nearby…?"

"A group of four are west of us and two are north."

"Amazing," Zach grinned as he shoved food into his mouth. "My friend has superpowers…"

"You are an idiot and a nerd," Azya snorted as she finished her food and got up to saddle Ah-Un. "I just was trained in using my senses when I couldn't see."

"I know," Zach smiled as he handed her the bag of bentos and climbed onto the dragon once she tightened the last strap.

"Alright Ah-Un, I owe you a feast when we return to the castle," Azya smiled as she nuzzled the two heads before strapping her naginata onto her back and jumped up in front of Zach as Ah-Un lifted off the ground.


	35. Chapter 35

"Of course he lives on a volcano," Azya huffed.

The air was hot as she glanced at the large skull in the distance and sighed. Zach was holding onto the reigns of Ah-Un as she held onto the dragon's straps, one foot on his leg, ready to jump off once they reached the white skull. Now she understood why she was told to wear this specific clothing which was to help with the heat and Zach wore a similar outfit, but his had both sleeves. Gripping her naginata with her free hand, she let go of Au-Uh's strap and landed a couple feet in front of the skull and walked inside as Zach and Ah-Un flew up into the sky away from the heat.

"Who's there?! Oh I feared that dog… A human…? How'd you get here?"

"I seek your skills as a blacksmith, Totosai," Azya spoke simply, noticing a brown cow near the back of the skulled cave.

"I don't craft for humans, now go away," the old man huffed, brandishing his long hammer at her.

"Oh, and after I traveled all this way to bring you a gift," Azya sighed as she pulled the envelope out of her haori to show him before putting it back with a shrug. "Oh well… guess he was right. I should have gone to Kaijinbo before he died…"

"Wait a minute, human," the man spoke suddenly and she glanced at him over her shoulder. "How does a girl like you know about Kaijinbo?"

"Well, my mate had a blade created from him, the last weapon he created."

"The last blade was Tokijin… it's owner a human hating Youkai Lord… and you say mate… you are full of lies human!"

"Oh? He won't like you saying such things to me. Sesshomaru is not pleasant when insulted and to hear you insulting his mate? Bad move on your part old man," Azya warned as she turned to face him fully, pulling her haori aside to reveal the mark on her chest.

"The mark of the House of the Moon…?" Totosai gasped and suddenly appeared in front of her, touching the mark gingerly. "Where is he?"

"Back at the castle. Something about you having a habit of running when you feel his presence," Azya spoke as she pulled the envelope out of her haori again and held it out to him.

"Oh…" Totosai opened it carefully and tipped it into his hand, revealing two fangs. "Bring your friends inside, woman, before they die from the heat outside."

"Thank you," Azya spoke, walking to the cave entrance as she fixed her clothes and waved up at Zach as they circled high in the air. She waited for them to start descending before returning inside where it was cooler.

"You're not pupped yet, I'm surprised," Totosai spoke and she flinched as he appeared in front of her, his ear to her stomach.

"Get off me," Azya snapped, punching him in the head. "I have something inside of me that prevents me from becoming pregnant until I am ready for it and technically we are mates-to-be. Inu no Taisho had saved me from dying and created this mark, completing it with blood from both Sesshomaru and myself."

"Oh…?" Totosai got to his feet and walked over and sat on a large flat piece of stone. "It may take several days, mind telling me your story?"

"Nope, that's all you get. If you want more, go talk to Sesshomaru," Azya snorted as Ah-Un entered the cave and Zach slid off the saddle. "How are you holding up, Zach?"

"It's hot out there…"

"This place is not meant for humans since my work is for Youkai. Ah, hello Ah-Un," Totosai greeted the dragon before focusing on the fangs in his palm. "These are definitely from Lord Sesshomaru."

"You really do need parts of Youkai to create weapons?" Azya frowned. "I didn't realize he did that, he wasn't missing any."

"Youkai grow back teeth within minutes, that's why it's the best part to use. Are you fond of that weapon you carry?"

"It's similar to what I was taught with. When I first woke up after being saved, my vision had been lost. Sesshomaru taught me to use my remaining senses to be able to function on my own again and then started teaching me to be able to fight if needed using a bo staff that had three rings on each end. Sound and touch had been the best forms to help and I managed to kill a female Youkai but broke the staff in the process," Azya spoke as she undid Ah-Un's saddle.

"I see," Totosai spoke before standing up and headed towards the back of the cave. "Remain up here, I'll be back."

"Okay," Azya frowned but shrugged as she pulled out two pelts and laid them down before lying on one and Zach took the other.

"You trust that creep? His eyes were huge," Zach asked.

"Youkai have good hearing, careful Zach," Azya smiled as she closed her eyes and focused on the blacksmith's aura. "I'm keeping tabs on him. Besides he's too scared of Sesshomaru and if he's not finished by the end of the week, he'll have Sesshomaru to deal with."

"Hm, true," Zach laughed and Azya felt Totosai's aura flicker slightly in fear before she heard the sound of a hammer meeting metal. "So it begins."

"Get some sleep, at least we're being allowed to stay here away from the heat."

"Which is funny considering the fact that I'm almost positive that this cave leads into the volcano."

"Youkai barriers are quite intriguing. I'm sure that if he hadn't put one up around this skull, it would be much hotter."

"Really?"

"There is so much I can teach you and several of Sesshomaru's soldiers that I train with are willing to help me teach you."

"Are they cute?"

"Zach, you are hopeless," Azya giggles as she looked at him as he had his hands under his head.

"It might be good incentive to keep me around."

"What about your clients?"

"I took two months off, Azya. Damian will find someone to take them if I decide to quit," Zachery spoke as he turned his head to look at her. "This place is much a simpler lifestyle."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Zach. I don't want you making a rash decision…"

"I won't. After all, I have my best friend with me to help me be smart with my decision."

"Go to sleep," Azya huffed, despite the smile on her face.

"Yes, ma'am," Zach saluted to the ceiling and she brought her arm over his stomach hard making him groan a little. "Okay, I'll behave… damn, you've gotten stronger…"

"Goodnight, Zach," Azya smiled.

* * *

"You definitely are more patient then those brothers," Totosai spoke as he finally came back up from the tunnel. "Great form but have you even left once?"

"You really think I'd let Ah-Un go hungry in this barren wasteland?" Azya frowned as she glanced over at him, having been practicing form with the naginata while Zach slept. "You underestimate me if you think I haven't been keeping track of you. Why did you go visit Bokuseno?"

"So you've met him?" Totosai frowned, surprised.

"Sesshomaru had questions and visited him," Azya nodded as she put the sheath back on the naginata and rested it against the cave wall as she noticed what he held, wrapped in a dark blue satin, keeping his work hidden.

"Let's see if you can wield it. Most weapons created from Youkai are heavy to humans," Totosai spoke as he held out the satin wrapped weapon.

From the size of the satin, she knew that it was some kind of staff and held her hands out. She felt the satin across her palms before Totosai let go and felt only a small weight from the weapon, lighter than the naginata she had been using. Pulling the string of the satin wrapping, she gasped seeing a beautiful naginata. The two foot blade was hidden by a black sheath that had a crescent moon carved in place of a guard, the black matching the metal pole arm that was four feet long. The hilt was in the shape of a crescent moon, curving towards the sheathed blade. She removed the sheath and saw a sliver blade with black at it's center. Tossing the sheath to Totosai, she backed away and started going through motions taught to her when practicing alone and closed her eyes as she listened to the slight sound of the sharp blade cutting through the air.

"Don't close your eyes…!" Smirking, Azya lunged forward and stopped centimeters from his chin and opened her eyes to look up at him, feeling his fear and surprise.

"Didn't I tell you that I learned how to fight before my sight returned?" Azya asked simply as she took the sheath back from his hands and slid it over the blade. "It's lighter than the naginata Sesshomaru gave me."

"Orochi has accepted you. Now because you are human, don't expect to have abilities like the Tenseiga and Tessaiga. If Lord Sesshomaru were to wield it, he would be able to access other abilities but a human's body cannot withstand the Youkai energy of creating said abilities. There is also this, commissioned from the second fang given," Totosai spoke as he pulled a katana into view from behind him, its guard also in the shape of a crescent moon and sheath was black. The hilt had some variants, silver and blue cords wrapped around for the grips, it's tassels dangling only a few inches off the handle's end. "This blade, Pyua, when faced with a poison or miasma, you will be able to use this blade to disperse it."

"Sesshomaru's poison doesn't hurt me," Azya frowned as she grabbed the hilt and withdrew it from the sheath, surprised to see a blade of a deep blue.

"I do not choose the design, woman. Each weapon I create may be different and for specific person in mind but with each fang, the design changes," Totosai spoke as he itched his ear.

"Thank you," Azya spoke gently as she sheathed the blade and slid it into the obi around her waist. "It is time for us to depart then, now that you finished these."

"I didn't do it for that dog," Totosai spoke as she started going through one of the saddle bags and found the white bag she was looking for.

"I know," Azya spoke as she handed him the bag. "This is your payment, I guess, for completing the my weapons."

"I don't take money…"

"And risk Sesshomaru taking it wrong?" Azya asked, raising a brow. "Use it for food, some clothing, I don't care."

"I feel like your blackmailing me," Totosai frowned, taking the bag.

"With what? I don't know you that well. Thank you for allowing us to remain within your protective barrier. Zach, wake up!" Azya turned and nudged her friend in the side with her sheathed Orochi before taking the straps from her old naginata and strapped Orochi to her back and picked up the unnamed blade and walked over to where Ah-Un got to his feet.

"What do you want?" Zach groaned.

"It's time to leave this place. Get up and help me," Azya spoke as she worked on securing the saddle and strapped the unnamed naginata to Ah-Un's side.

"Finally," Zach groaned as he rolled off the pelts and rolled them up quickly and brought them over. "How many days to we have before you get sniffed out?"

"We should arrive on time," Azya spoke as Zach helped strap the bags to the saddle before he hopped on and guided Ah-Un out of the cave as Azya walked behind them.

"If something changes with you, bring Pyua and Orochi back," Totosai spoke as he followed her out of the cave.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll understand if it happens," Totosai spoke and she frowned before jumping up behind Zach. "Fly fast, Ah-Un, its time for you to take your lady home!"

"Bye, creepy old man!" Zach called as Ah-Un flew higher.

"You idiot," Azya grinned before Ah-Un roared and few northwest.


	36. Chapter 36

"Is that it?" Zach gasped and Azya looked at him from her place hanging from Ah-Un's side, her arm wrapped around Ah-Un's straps, her foot tucked into the bend of his scaled leg. Ah-Un's saddle wasn't comfortable with two adults and she felt comfortable holding onto him. "How big is that castle?"

"We won't reach it until sundown," Azya chuckled before feeling Sesshomaru's aura but it was different somehow, coming from behind them. She spun her body around carefully, her free hand on Orochi before her eyes saw why his aura had been different. "Look behind us Zach."

"Why…? Is that a flying dog? He's huge…!" Zach gasped as he looked over his shoulder as the large canine gained on them quickly as she felt Ah-Un slow down. "Why is the dragon slowing down?"

"Relax," Azya smiled as the large canine lifted his large head as he hovered beside them, his deep blue eyes surrounded by red focusing on her. She carefully unwrapped her hand around Ah-Un's straps and jumped towards the canine, using the dragon's side to push off.

"Azzie!" Zach screamed and she only laughed as she landed perfectly between the canine's shoulder blades.

"We're back," Azya spoke as she used the thick white fur to climb up onto his head and knelt down on one knee just above the crescent moon. "Why are you in this form, Sessh?"

"This is Sesshomaru? And I thought he couldn't get any more perfect…" Zach gushed before a growl from Sesshomaru made him fall quiet.

"You know that he is harmless, mate," Azya smiled as she ran a hand through his fur, causing a gentle rumble from him as they continued towards the castle. "My trip was a success though I had to threaten him a little at the beginning. He mentioned that if anything changes with me, I'll need to bring them back. Is this the binding you had mentioned?"

She felt the confirmation from his aura and hummed back in response.

"He didn't say anything," Zach frowned.

"He's in his true form, of course he didn't," Azya spoke as she looked over at her friend. "I can feel his aura and with his thoughts, his aura changed to respond to me."

"Didn't you say that he would never reveal this form, due to scaring you before your last return?"

"At the time, yes, but I'm not scared of him. I know that the reason that had happened was because of his enemy at the time. He would never harm me, even if his inner beast was in control."

"How do you know that?"

"Because his inner beast chose me before he realized it himself," Azya smiled, getting a bark from Sesshomaru in response.

"Didn't know you were into beastiality, Azzie?"

"I can still beat your ass," Azya growled as she stood up and turned to face her friend as he flew on Ah-Un beside her.

"Maybe after we land? Please sit or something so you have something to hold onto," Zach spoke, his eyes wide in fear.

"Oh, you're no fun," Azya chuckled as she knelt back down and gripped the fur of Sesshomaru's head.

Sesshomaru increased their pace and Ah-Un kept up with him. Azya hummed quietly as she watched the landscape fly by, her hand running through the soft white fur of his large head. Soon they reached the castle, sunset still hours away. Hearing shouting and the soldiers yelling to clear the courtyard, Sesshomaru landed gently before Ah-Un took his turn and landed nearby.

She slid down Sesshomaru's neck before climbing down his front leg and landed in a crouch beside the large canine. Straightening up, she stretched her arms above her head before Sesshomaru's large head came down to nudge her forward. Looking up at him with a smile, she reached her hand out to touch his jaw as he pressed his nose to her brow for several seconds before he backed up and was engulfed in a white light that started to shrink before the light faded, revealing Sesshomaru in his humanoid form.

"Mama!"

Azya turned away from Sesshomaru as she heard Rin and saw the smiling child running at her. She opened her arms and picked her up as she reached her and held her close. Glancing at Zach as he finally got off Ah-Un, she grinned as he looked around, his eyes lingering on a few of the soldiers before focusing on her and her grin widened. Shifting Rin so that she was on her hip, opposite of the katana at her waist she walked over to Zach.

"Rin, this is a dear friend of mine, Zachery. Zach, this is my daughter, Rin," Azya greeted as Rin loosened her grip around her neck and turned her head to look at Zach.

"Hello," Rin smiled.

"It is my pleasure to finally meet you. Azzie has told me so much about you, Rin."

"Why don't you show Zach around?" Azya spoke as she set Rin back down.

"Okay," Rin grinned as she grabbed Zach's hand and started pulling him towards the castle, already chatting his ear off as they went.

"I have a feeling that he might choose to stay," Azya spoke as she felt Sesshomaru right behind her and turned to face him. She unstrapped Orochi from her back and held it out for him to examine. "That is Orochi. Totosai said that you would be able to access its abilities due to it being your fang that created it but I am unable to because I am human. With the katana, Pyua, I would be able to disperse a poison or miasma around me."

"Hn," he smirked as he unsheathed the naginata and studied the blade.

Feeling his approval as he sheathed the Orochi and returned it to her, she held out the katana by the scabbard, letting him draw the blade to study its craftsmanship. Giving a slight nod as he slid the blade back into the scabbard and she slid the blade back into the obi at her waist. Glancing over at Ah-Un, she watched Jaken lead him away as several servants carried the bags inside the castle.

Feeling Sesshomaru's hand at the small of her back, she let him guide her into the castle past the groups of female Youkai gathered, whispering to each other. Azya tried to keep control of her emotions and not smile as she headed the conversations of the Youkai, but failed, feeling all their jealousy as Sesshomaru guided her past them and up the staircase. Once up the first flight of stairs, Sesshomaru's arm wrapped around her waist and she found herself in his bed chamber and his face buried against her neck.

"Someone missed me," Azya whispered gently.

She wrapped one arm around his neck, using her free hand to rest Orochi against the wall before pulling Pyua from her waist and rested the katana beside the naginata against the wall as well. As soon as she stopped moving, she felt his hand untying her obi, slowly undressing her and she helped him before he decided to use his poison and burn her clothing. As soon as she was only in her underclothes, she found herself on the bed, her head and shoulders resting on Mokomoko. Sesshomaru crawled over to her before lying on top of her, his hips between her legs and wearing only his hamakas as he rested his head against her chest and his arm resting over her waist.

"Sessh?"

"His scent is all over you," he growled quietly.

"So you are simply remarking your territory?" Azya asked, fighting back her grin.

"Hn."

"Why were you in your true form? I wasn't late this time."

"This Sesshomaru was merely patrolling the lands. It's quicker in that form. Smells are stronger and I ran across your scent crossing the border into the Western lands. Remove the technology preventing you from being pupped."

"You really want to think about that when that vile hanyou is still at large? I know that you will continue to travel these lands while he is a threat, maybe even after he is finally destroyed, but I don't want to be trapped in this castle while you do. I would want to travel as long as I could but I also know that you would not allow that due to the threat of that hanyou," Azya spoke quietly as she ran a hand through his long hair, her other trailing along his lower back gently. He huffed quietly against her chest, making her smile as she bent one knee, shifting slightly to get a little more comfortable. "It's just too dangerous for a human, no matter how strong or trained I am."

"Rest, mate. I know that you have not slept for quite some time," Azya whispered gently and he hummed quietly in response.

Closing her eyes, she opened her senses to feel all the occupants in the castle and could feel Rin down on the main level with Jaken and Ah-Un while Zach was working his way up the levels, Priscilla's aura with him. Hearing Sesshomaru's quiet breaths, she knew that he had fallen asleep and she wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon until he woke up as his mokomoko wrapped around her bent leg loosely. Hearing a quiet knock on the main doors to Sesshomaru's room, Azya frowned as she felt Priscilla and Zach's aura right outside the door. Soon she heard the doors open but Zach's aura remained outside the room. She watched the bedroom door as it opened silently and Priscilla entered the room, her head lowered.

"Yes?" Azya spoke quietly as the elder Youkai knelt beside the bed.

"Your guest was requesting to see you, my lady," Priscilla spoke, her voice soft, "but I see that you won't be able to greet him for some time. What would you like me to tell him?"

"Set him up in the rooms beside Rin's for now and let him know that I laid down with my lord. He will understand and when I am able to, I will go to him," Azya whispered.

"Very well, my lady," Priscilla spoke before moving to get up.

"Tell me something Priscilla," Azya spoke and the woman lifted her eyes to meet hers in surprise. "My guest has particular tastes and I wondered if you knew if some of those within the castle had the same tastes."

"And what tastes are you referring to?"

"He only likes male lovers and I noticed his gaze lingered on some of the soldiers. He may be staying longer than originally expected and I had hoped to find him a companion or two that would enjoy his company as well."

"Does he prefer singular or would he prefer multiple to warm his bed?"

"That I don't know," Azya frowned, thinking for a moment.

"He is only human so many it would be best to start off with one?" Priscilla suggested.

"You can always ask him which he prefers."

"Very well my lady," Priscilla spoke with a bow of her head.

"Thank you for taking care of him," Azya smiled quietly as Priscilla stood and quietly exited the room and she went back to running her fingers through Sesshomaru's hair and closed her eyes, letting herself relax.


	37. Chapter 37

Azya woke suddenly as she heard a guttural growl, feeling the vibrations against her stomach. She focused on Sesshomaru, feeling the unease from his aura and noticed that he had not moved from where he had fallen asleep but his brow was furrowed and she could see the tip of his fangs. She ran her fingers along his lower back gently, flinching slightly as she felt his hand on her hip, his sharp claws pressed into her skin. Keeping one arm around his shoulders, she used her bent leg and free arm to roll the both of them so that she ended up straddling his waist.

The movement caused his claws to pierce her skin and she glanced down to see her blood rolling down her hip and she couldn't see his claws at all with how deep his claws had pierced her. Focusing on Sesshomaru, the furrow in his brow had deepened, she could see the tension of his jaw as a snarl escaped him. Careful to not disturb her wounded side she rested her body on his chest and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Wake up, my mate," Azya spoke gently before kissing the corner of his mouth. "It is nearing the evening meal, time to wake up."

Suddenly, he sat up and she was glad that she had kept one arm around his shoulders otherwise she probably would have been thrown off his lap at the movement. His eyes were half-open and she could see the red in his eyes and frowned. Adjusting herself better in his lap, she touched his cheek and his eyes focused on her.

"Are you okay, my mate? You started growling in your sleep," Azya spoke quietly. "Mind pulling your claws out of my side?"

She winced slightly as he removed his hand and watched as he lifted his hand up to look at the blood on his hand. He focused his eyes on her again, the red not fading and she smiled and kissed the edge of his jaw. He growled as he buried his head against her neck, his hand moved to the small of her back and pulled her closer.

"You are near the peak of your cycle," he growled, his voice deeper due to his inner beast being near the surface. "It's intoxicating."

"You know that I won't bleed while that technology is in me. Maybe it is better that I don't if this is causing your inner beast to surface," Azya whispered. "We do need to get up though. As the lord of this castle, you can't stay in bed all day."

Sesshomaru nipped her shoulder in response but then pulled back, the red fading from his eyes. Azya kissed him before crawling out of his lap and got off the bed. She headed over to his private spring and he followed, his hand trailing over her bloody side. She removed her underwear and stepped into the water, seeing two piles of folded clothing nearby and silently thanked Priscilla for knowing what she needed.

As the water moved over her wounded side, she hissed as pain shot through her left hip. Carefully washing around the five wounds, she glanced at her hip and frowned seeing the skin discolored around each wound. Sesshomaru came over to her and studied her side with a frown.

"It wasn't that discolored earlier," Azya commented and he frowned before biting his wrist and held it out to her. "They aren't that bad."

"This Sesshomaru may have unconsciously released poison into you. The mark may prevent it from severely hurting you, but you may still become very sick."

"Oh," Azya frowned before taking the offered blood. "Is there some ceremony that has to happen for us to become mated?"

"Hn."

"Because you are one of the four lords of the lands?"

"You are correct. Announcements of matings and courtships happen during the spring and winter gatherings, hosted by the lords."

"That doesn't seem fair. If one wanted to be mated, they shouldn't have to wait for some gathering."

"To become the mate of a lord, it is important to follow the proper order."

"I'm going to have to kill more females that parade around this castle pinning after you, won't I?" Azya sighed and he nodded. "Guess I need to start training again to get used to Orochi. It's going to be hard learning how to fight with Pyua since I've only ever practiced with staffs and naginatas."

"You learn quickly, mate," Sesshomaru spoke and she smiled at the compliment as she wet her hair before going over to the oils to wash it.

"Half of those here already think that we're mated, would that affect anything?"

"A mating mark carries a distinct energy of your mate. The lords will be able to sense the difference between the two."

"Guess that makes sense," Azya mused, dunking under the water to wash the oils from her hair before stepping out and started to dry herself, knowing that both Rin and Zach would be wondering where she had disappeared to.

"The evening meal is not for some time, mate," Sesshomaru spoke and as she glanced at him, had to smile as he relaxed in the water.

"I need to find Zach and see if Priscilla has taken care of him so that he can be comfortable during his stay," Azya smiled as she started to dress in the two-layered kimono set out for her, the inner kimono black while the outer was dark blue with white and purple flowers across the sleeves and shoulders with a white obi to match.

"Don't let his scent become so strong again. The females can smell that and will challenge you more, thinking you are not loyal."

"I talked with Priscilla about seeing to getting a bedmate or two for him. There is a chance he already has the scent of a male on him, but I will make sure to be careful. I'll see you soon, mate."

Azya entered the bedroom and grabbed Pyua and slid it into her obi before grabbing Orochi. Sliding on the silk slippers beside the bed, she left the room and followed Zach's aura out to the gardens where he was lying down in the grass. She sat down against a tree beside him and sat her naginata beside her as he opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her.

"What have you been up to?" Azya smiled and her smile widened as he sat up, wincing slightly. "Oh, did you get a nice gift while I took my nap?"

"I was taking a nap myself when there was a knock on the door. These two soldiers came in, still in their full armor and weapons… I thought I was in a heap of trouble but then they just started to remove everything. Oh man I was in heaven, Azzie, but damn… I didn't realize that inuyoukai were so well-endowed, but it was worth it."

"You're welcome," Azya grinned. "Most of the soldier's shifts usually run three days, so if you wish for a couple more bedmates, I'm sure Priscilla can arrange that for you so that when those two are on shift, you are not lonely."

"I don't know if I could handle more than two beautiful beings in my bed."

"You let me know if you do," Azya hummed as she saw two soldiers walk by, nodding her way as they caught her gaze.

"Oh, it's them," Zach whispered. "Look at them Azzie…"

"You know I only have eyes for my lord, but I have trained with those two many times. They are quite skilled. I was going to head over to the dojo, care to come with. I'm sure they are headed that way as well…"

"And fight my already raging hard on just by watching them walk by?"

"They can still hear you, you know," Azya spoke as they turned and headed back to where she sat. "Taryn, Kalino, how has your day been?"

"It has been delightful, my lady, thank you for asking," the inuyoukai with long black hair pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck, Taryn, smiled.

"We overheard you saying that you were going to stop by the dojo," Kalino smiled, his silver hair braided over his shoulder.

"You remembered our names? I'm flattered, my lady," Taryn bowed at the waist and Azya heard Zach whimper and glanced at him. His ears were bright red, but his body was hunched over and she couldn't see his face. "Are you okay, sir?"

"I have a feeling that you might be causing this, he usually isn't like this," Azya grinned and saw Kalino blush slightly.

"My lady…"

"No need to by shy about it, Kalino. After all, I was the one who asked Priscilla to accommodate my friend's needs. Seems that you just walking by, caused a small issue for Zach."

"Shut up, Azzie…" Zach whispered and she chuckled quietly as she picked up Orochi and got to her feet.

"Boys, it seems like Zach is a little unwell, would you mind helping him back to his rooms?"

"It would be our pleasure," Taryn smiled, before offering his hand out to Zach.

"Just make sure he makes it to the evening meal, boys," Azya smiled as Zach took Taryn's hand and helped him up. "Get feeling better, Zach."

"Oh, shut up," Zach muttered, his face flushed.

"And you thought I was the only one into beastiality," Azya grinned quietly, gaining grins from the two soldiers before they escorted her friend back towards the castle.


	38. Chapter 38

Azya groaned as she laid on the ground of the dojo, her body aching from the intense training with the few soldiers that had been in there, teaching her how to properly fight with her new katana. Pyua was lying beside her while Orochi was propped against the wall nearby, but she could feel the energy of both. Feeling several energies that were not that of the soldiers in the dojo, she gripped Pyua as she got to her feet, watching two female youkai enter the dojo. Feeling the dark energy in their aura, she slid the katana into her obi and walked over to the naginata and gripped the pole tightly.

"You really want to try this after I killed that feline?" Azya asked as they stopped a few feet away from her.

Studying the two females, she could feel the feline nature of the one with black hair while feeling a water nature from the one with blue hair. Both wore simple black kimonos, and hair pulled back into simple buns. Seeing the first's hands twitch at her comment, she could see the painted claws while the other pulled a blade from her sleeve.

"My lady?" one of the soldiers from behind her.

"She isn't his mate, you don't get to address her like that!" the one with blue hair snapped.

"Oh, we have a feisty one, but you are wrong. I bear the Mark of the Moon," Azya commented as she removed the sheath of Orochi and threw it to the side. "If someone will report to our lord, I'll accept the challenge of these two bitches."

"Both of them, my lady?"

"Their auras combined are less than that feline I have already killed. Here, I'll make it easier for you two. I'll keep my eyes closed," Azya grinned as she felt two of the soldiers leave the dojo as she closed her eyes.

"Don't make me laugh, mortal!" the feline hissed and lunged at her.

Azya dodged to the side and brought her naginata up to block the blade of the water Youkai . Feeling the feline behind her, move to attack again, she brought the pole of her naginata behind her, ramming the end into the feline's abdomen. The feline hissed as she was knocked backwards and Azya felt her get thrown across the dojo as she spun Orochi forward, feeling it's blade meet flesh as she swung at the one in front of her. Feeling her grip her naginata, preventing Azya from withdrawing it from her flesh, the water youkai laughed as she felt the feline lunge at her again.

"You are pathetic," Azya hissed as she removed one hand from Orochi and drew Pyua as she spun around, the katana slicing into the feline. She opened her eyes and sighed, seeing her katana buried deep into the feline's chest, her claws inches away from having touched her. Turning to look at the other youkai who had her naginata's blade deep into her stomach, she looked at her face as she felt the feline slide off the katana and fall to the ground. "Regret your decision yet?"

"How…?" she coughed up blood and Azya jerked her naginata out of her, letting her fall to her knees.

"I have earned my lord's respect and continue to better myself to keep that respect from him. Attacking a human you thought was weak just because of something fickle as thinking he will ever set eyes on you is pitiful. He does not like bitches who just try to fling themselves at him for wealth and a title. You must have been new to the castle, sorry your stay was so short," Azya snapped as she brought her naginata forward and rammed it's blade into the Youkai's chest.

"Well done, my lady," the soldier came over and handed her a cloth to clean the blood off her blades and she cleaned them silently, sliding Pyua back into its scabbard at her waist before grabbing Orochi's sheath off the ground and slid it over the blade. "Do you require any assistance back to the castle?"

"Take me to the human prisoner that Sesshomaru brought some time ago, I have some unfinished business to attend to," Azya muttered, her eyes lingering over the two bodies on the ground before stepping over the two bodies and left the dojo to head towards where she knew where the dungeon was.

"What about Lord Sesshomaru…?" the inuyoukai asked as he followed.

"Let me deal with our lord, I'm the one who told him to bring the human here until I was ready to deal with him," Azya spoke calmly as the soldier opened the door for her to the dungeon before taking the lead, taking her down several levels. She noticed that there were not many cells that were occupied, but those that were filled were mostly youkai that couldn't take human form.

"Here he is, my lady," the inuyoukai spoke as he finally stopped before a dark cell, the only light in the lanterns outside the cell. "Do you require anything else?"

"The key?" Azya held out her hand as she studied the curled up form in the corner of the cell and the inuyoukai placed a key in her hand silently before stepping back.

"Very well, my lady," the soldier bowed before leaving without another word.

"So… the lady of the castle… has finally come… to visit a lowly human…?" his voice was hoarse.

"So you still can talk, can you?" Azya mused as she leaned against her naginata and studied his form. "I'm surprised after how damaged your neck was before you were brought here as a prisoner."

"Vai…?" the curled up form moved and she watched as he struggled to get to his feet and staggered to the cage bars. "Let me out of here…"

"Why would I do that?" Azya grinned. "This is your home now, Kei."

"There are monsters here…!" he cried desperately.

"Would you rather I kill you now? Even if you were to be released, you'll never make your way back to the world you know. You most likely would die before making it a mile outside the castle grounds. How much time do you think has passed since you've been here? Weeks? Months? The darkness and hearing creatures in cells around you that cannot take human form, it must be eating at what sanity you have."

"Why are you doing this…?"

"Because even when with my lord, I trembled in fear because of what you had done to me. Me, a human who is in a courtship with one of the four most powerful youkai lords of the lands who never even flinches when he kills, trembling over a pitiful human because of how abused I had been when with you."

"You never stopped me, you whore!" Keisuke hissed.

"Oh I tried. So many times I tried to stop you, but you always overpowered me and in your screwed up head, you thought that I liked it," Azya frowned, "but I applaud you for your attempt of trying to act strong, even when you are half-starved in a cell on the lowest level of this dungeon."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Death is too kind of a punishment for you, Keisuke. You will be begging for death by the time that I finish with you," Azya chuckled as she unsheathed her naginata and examined the blade in the candlelight.

* * *

Sesshomaru left the dojo after ordering his soldiers to clean up the dead youkai females and followed Azya's scent, frowning as it led toward the dungeon instead of the castle. As he reached the doors to the dungeon, the doors opened to reveal his future mate covered in blood. Behind her was a single soldier, his expression one of caution as he caught his gaze. Focusing on Azya, he smelt blood on her that was not that of either of the two females.

"Whose blood is on you, mate?" Sesshomaru frowned as she finally noticed him.

"I finally dealt with some unfinished business," she shrugged, her voice not giving him any hint of what she was feeling on as she kept her gaze forward, not looking at him. "Though he was still alive when I finished with him. Not sure how long he'll last though without some serious healing. I'm going to go clean up."

"Azya," Sesshomaru grabbed her arm, but felt something small and hard in her arm as she tried to walk past and she stopped moving, but didn't look up at him.

"You can punish or yell at me later, but I reek of blood and would rather wash that human's filth off my body," she spoke quietly. "Or would you rather me explaining to Rin about my current appearance?"

"Take the human over to the healer and have him patched up," Sesshomaru spoke to the soldier who bowed before pulling Azya into his arms and jumped up to the balcony of his room and carried her inside to the spring before letting her go. "Azya."

"Those females pissed me off," Azya spoke simply as she placed her weapons against the wall and removed her clothing before stepping into the spring.

"So you went to take it out on a prisoner," he rose a brow as he removed his own clothing before blood soaked into his skin and entered the spring as well.

"Death would be too kind for that bastard."

"Why are you locking away your emotions?"

"Because I cannot afford to break down," she whispered as she worked to wash the blood off her body. "I've taken lives today and in venting that dark feeling, I tortured that man. How could I possibly be fine thinking about that? I hate this feeling. I know that it won't end, but I cannot accept it either so I cannot afford to think about it."

"It will eat at you worse if you don't deal with it now, mate," Sesshomaru spoke as he went to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her so that her back was against his chest.

"Nothing will change even if I do, Sesshomaru, you know that. I will continue to have to kill those who challenge me and even after we become mated, they will be too stupid to understand that and keep challenging me."

"Once mated, my soldiers will become yours fully. Any who dare challenge you, you'd be able to imprison or punish."

"That is still months away, mate. We are only here for two weeks every other cycle and by the time we return again, they'll have forgotten and there will be a new batch of females for me to have to deal with. I know that with being a Lord, you have to host to most Youkai who enter the gates, so I would not be able to just close the gates to any female that seeks residence," she scoffed. "Nothing would change."

"Do not become like this Sesshomaru, mate, it does not suit you," he whispered into her hair.

"Then how should I be? A weak emotional human who breaks down after every kill? That would break me…"

"Mate with me now, Azya," Sesshomaru spoke, his grip on her waist tightening slightly.

"What about your political laws as a lord?"

"Fuck them," he growled. "This Sesshomaru wishes to join with you completely."

"You certainly have a way with words," she snorted as she lifted her head to look up at him, finally meeting his gaze and he was relieved to see a fire in her eyes when he had expected no emotion due to her locking everything away. "What must I do to complete the mating?"

"The mark on your chest prevents me from starting the mating mark so you must draw blood by biting this Sesshomaru when you reach your completions first and not release your bite until I do the same," he spoke gently as she turned around in his arm. "I do have one question before you give me your answer."

"Okay…?" She frowned and he moved to grab her arm where he had felt a foreign object in her upper arm. He pressed his thumb against it and saw a small straight object appear from under her skin that was very thin and a couple inches long. "Oh…"

"What is it?"

"It's what prevents me from becoming pupped as you would put it," she spoke quietly, lowering her gaze to stare at his chest. "I didn't realize you had noticed it…"

"Such a small object in your arm prevents pregnancy?"

"Yeah," she chuckled.

She grabbed one of his fingers and pressed it into her arm under one end of the object, causing his nail to pierce her skin and the object poked through the wound she had just caused. Letting go of his hand, she grabbed the object and pulled it out of her arm and held it out to him. He took it and looked at it, surprised at how such a small cylinder placed in her arm could prevent her from becoming pregnant.

"It may still take a cycle or so before I bleed now that it has been removed."

"Hn," he snapped the object in half before tossing it to the edge of the spring and wrapped his arm back around her waist. "What will your answer be, my mate?"

"Make me yours completely, Sesshomaru," she smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself up so that she could wrap her legs around his waist, trapping his hardening length in between them.


End file.
